Champignons are quite affordable: they can be purchased all year round. However, fresh mushrooms are stored in the refrigerator for no more than 4 days, so the answer to the question of how to freeze champignons at home is not a problem. First, it will allow it to create reserves for the winter, when the gifts of the forest are as cheap as possible, thereby saving the family budget. Secondly, do not throw away the excess of the product purchased in the store, if not all the mushrooms are left to prepare the dish. Moreover, this process will not take much time.
There are two ways to freeze fresh champignons at home: whole and cut. The landlady will do the right thing, which will freeze some of the mushrooms, and a part - before cutting them. This will allow her to further cook meals, which require both whole and cut mushrooms. After all, it is impossible to defrost the mushrooms before cooking, and it will not be easy to cut frozen mushrooms.
Council
Freezing champignons for winter is better in small portions so that one package or container contains enough to prepare just one dish, since they can not be re-frozen.
Freezing whole champignons
In order to freeze fresh mushrooms whole, you need to select only small and smooth. Therefore, the mushrooms collected or purchased in the store must be sorted by sorting.
Next, you need to act according to the following algorithm.
- Rinse the mushrooms well in warm water, scraping the stuck dirt and grass.
- Spread a towel, napkin or tablecloth on the table, put the mushrooms on it, leave them for 20 minutes, so that the glasses are all water and absorbed into the fabric. Only in this case it will be possible to keep the champignons during frost as smooth and beautiful as fresh ones. Otherwise, the water, expanding into them during freezing, will damage the mushrooms, and after cooking they will be watery.
- Place mushrooms in plastic bags.
- Release excess air from the bags and close them sealed. If the package is not equipped with a special fastener like lightning, then it should be sealed or at least tightly tied.
- It remains to put the bags in the freezer. If it has a quick freeze function, then this mode should be turned on for 2-3 hours. In the absence of it, you will have to wait a little longer, but this will not affect the quality of the product.
Billets can be used without fear, for 12 months. Defrost before you put in a dish, mushrooms are not worth it, except when they need to be beautifully laid out one by one or strung on a skewer. In this case, the package with mushrooms can be obtained from their refrigerator in advance, but it is not worthwhile to allow complete defrosting: it is enough to wait until the mushrooms can be easily separated from each other.
Freezing chopped mushrooms
How to freeze champignons after slicing? With such a preparation for the winter will have to tinker a little longer, but the result is worth it.
- Rinse the mushrooms, spread on the cloth, letting drain excess liquid.
- Cut the plates with the desired width( optimally - 2-3 mm).
- Place them on a tray or large dish in one layer.
- Place in the freezer and wait until they freeze. In the fast freezing mode, they will be ready in an hour, without using it you have to wait 3 hours at least. To freeze cut mushrooms immediately in a container or, especially, in a package it is impossible, since in this case they will break and become ugly, it will be impossible to use them for preparing festive dishes.
- When the plates are frozen, they must be carefully spread out on containers, tightly closed with lids and returned to the freezer.
Council
Whatever method of freezing for the winter has been chosen, it is possible to store mushrooms in the refrigerator, or rather in the freezer, for more than a year, so it makes sense to stick a sticker with the date for each container with them.
Preliminary defrosting of chopped mushrooms before cooking is not required. If you want to beautifully spread them on top of a casserole or other dish, just open the lid of the container, gently separate the mushrooms from each other. If they were initially frozen correctly: not together, but separately, as recommended above, then it will not cause any difficulties.
Washing and cutting of mushrooms will not cause any special difficulties for the hostess, it does not take much time, meanwhile the harvesting will please for a long time. With the proper freezing, the mushrooms will retain a good appearance, taste and aroma. Prepare delicious dishes with them will be nice and easy. In addition, it will save a lot.
We recommend that you read an article on how to recognize edible mushrooms or not edible
