Dried mushrooms are an ingredient every home cook should be comfortable using. Not only are dried mushrooms picked when they are in season, they are also frequently more economical than fresh mushrooms.
I love using dried mushrooms because their flavour is concentrated while drying and so a little goes a long way, plus the wonderful liquid produced when soaking dried mushrooms has countless potential uses. Once you are familiar with this product you will find yourself using them regularly.
How To Buy Dried Mushrooms:
When you are buying dried mushrooms try and buy mushrooms which are whole, rather than broken into little mushroom crumbs. In addition do read the package to make sure that if you are buying chanterelle mushrooms, you are getting 100% chanterelle mushrooms and not a mixture of random varieties.
A Lasagna made from Dried Mushrooms
1. Rinse the mushrooms in water. Try and get off any excess grit you can.
2. Soak the mushrooms in warm water for 20-30 minutes.
3. Remove the mushrooms from the water very carefully. The grit and sendiment will mostly sink to the bottom, you don’t want to take it with you. If the mushrooms are still quite gritty rinse them again. Then pat off any excess dirt.
4. Strain the mushroom liquid through a paper towel or coffee filter. You can use cheesecloth but if you do I recommend doing it more than once.
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Good timing!! Someone just gave us a baggy of home picked and dried Morel mushrooms and I had NO idea what to do with them!
Great article and recipe! My family love it. Thanks!
When using dried mushrooms, what are the differences in ratio? ex: If a recipe calls for 5oz of fresh mushrooms then how much dried mushrooms do you need?
It depends on the recipe, as they are quite different. There are some great suggestions here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100220134237AABVrnq
My father recently gave me a canning jar full of mushrooms that his relatives in Slovakia brought over. He has no idea what kind they are, so I’m going to have to experiment a bit with them. Should be fun. Soup is first, of course. Thanks for the info telling how to use them.
Germaine
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