Porcini mushrooms (boletus) are in demand all over the world due to their nutritional value. Heat treatment of these forest delicacies is carried out in order to neutralize bacteria, as well as other pathogenic microorganisms. To do this, they are boiled or steamed. You can learn about how to freeze or thaw porcini mushrooms correctly, how much to cook and how to cook them, from this material.

How to defrost

If there are too many mushrooms, the housewives freeze them to be able to cook a tasty dish at a convenient time. To do this, choose fresh specimens on which there is no rot or stain. They necessarily have a light mushroom aroma.

Mushrooms are washed and cut into quarters without additional processing, which helps to preserve the nutrients in full. Not only raw, but also boiled and fried porcini mushrooms can be frozen. Packed in bags or containers, they will wait until they are needed.

Important! Mushrooms have very rigid cell walls and are not digested without processing under the influence of high temperatures. When heated, the nutrients contained in them are released, including protein and B vitamins.

Defrost Instructions:

1. Remove the mushrooms from the freezer.
2. Cover a wide dish with paper towels and put mushrooms on it.
3. Put the dishes in the refrigerator for 6 hours.
4. After this defrosting, mushrooms can be used for cooking dishes. This method is considered the most convenient, since the product is thawed naturally.

For defrosting raw porcini mushrooms, it is also allowed to use hot water. But not everyone likes this method: a frozen product is already quite watery, and treatment with hot water nourishes it even more with moisture. As a result, the mushroom will lose its taste, and its texture will become too soft.

Frozen fried or boiled porcini mushrooms are taken out of the freezer directly with the container and thawed in the kitchen at room temperature. In soups and fries, you can put them without defrosting. In these cases, they will undergo heat treatment during cooking.

How much to cook

In order to properly boil the mushrooms, you need to consider in what initial condition the product is: whether it is fresh, dried or pickled. Boletus mushrooms are mostly cooked whole, although it is permissible to cut them into parts to reduce cooking time.

You need to boil according to the following scheme:

1. Put a pot of water on the fire. Once it boils, add mushrooms and salt to taste.
2. It takes 15 minutes to cook 300 grams of medium-sized mushrooms. When they are cooked, they will darken and soften slightly.
3. 5 minutes before the end of cooking, seasonings are placed in the broth to give the dish a more intense flavor.

The addition of wine when boiling mushrooms is necessary if you are going to use them to make tomato sauce or beef stew. Wine contributes to the fact that the ingredients reveal their aroma much stronger, which cannot be achieved using oil or broth.

For soup

Dried mushrooms can also be boiled, but after cooking the hat turns out to be dense and dry, and the spongy layer becomes mucous. Therefore, they are first soaked in water to restore the plasticity of the fruiting body, and then crushed to make the mushroom mass uniform in composition.

Mushrooms are pre-soaked for 2 hours to restore their texture, and then boiled in the same water. To do this, put the pan on the fire and as soon as the water boils, reduce the flame to a minimum, and then boil another 2 hours. So that mushrooms do not lose color, add 0.5 tsp to water. citric acid.

Dried mushrooms make the broth very fragrant, so it is later recommended to cook soup from it. Fresh mushrooms are boiled for 20 minutes. In this case, citric acid can also be added to maintain color. Mushrooms that have been frozen, just boil for 10 minutes.

Before frying

Cooking frozen mushrooms before frying is not necessary. Frying whole mushrooms takes an average of 15 minutes, and if they are sliced, the frying time is halved.

In order to make the mushrooms tasty, you need to consider several cooking rules:

1. Boletus contains more than 50% of water, and it will stand out during the frying process. To whites, rather than cook, put them on a large fire. This will help to quickly evaporate the released liquid. It can also be drained and used to prepare first courses.
2. Now you need fat. Always try to use it minimally. Mushrooms should not swim in it.
3. Never mix mushrooms until cooked! The boletus mushrooms will need 5 to 15 minutes to brown. It depends on the weight of the mushrooms, pan size and heating intensity.
4. Use a thick non-stick pan to make the mushrooms saute well. This will allow them to be filled with aroma.

Until ready

Cooking technology until ready involves the following steps:

1. Wash and dry the mushrooms. Cut them into pieces.
2. Pour enough oil into the pan to completely cover the bottom.
3. Put the dish on fire. Warm up the oil and reduce the flame to medium.
4. Add the mushrooms to the pan, stir and leave to simmer.
5. As soon as the volume of mushrooms is reduced by 2 times, and their edges are browned - cooking is over.

Important! Raw boletus and mycelium pose a risk to human health due to toxins that may be contained in them. Toxins cause damage to red blood cells, irritation of the gastrointestinal tract and allergic reactions.

How to cook porcini mushrooms

Both dried and fresh porcini mushrooms require special attention. Unlike oyster mushrooms, they easily fall apart, become too soft if you add sauce, broth or oil.

Like chanterelles, mushrooms quickly absorb moisture and this must be remembered during cooking. It is better to use them fresh: a hat is used to make broth or soup, and the legs are fried.

To prepare fresh fragrant soup you will need:

• dried mushrooms - 250 g;
• water - 8 glasses;
• onion (medium) - 1 pc.;
• butter - 50 g;
• celery - 40 g;
• carrots (average) - 1 pc.;
• fresh mushrooms - 200 g;
• tomatoes - 1 pc.;
• parsley - 2 tbsp. l .;
• dill - 2 tbsp. l .;
• salt - 0.5 tsp;
• pepper - 0.5 tsp;
• garlic - 3 cloves.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Soak the mushrooms in a container of water for 15 minutes.
2. In a frying pan or stewpan, mix finely chopped onions with oil and 1 teaspoon of salt, then put the mixture on medium heat. Stew, stirring, until the onion is golden brown (about 10 minutes).
3. Add chopped celery, carrots, garlic to the onion and fry, stirring, until softened (about 5 minutes).
4. Strain the liquid from the mushrooms. Add them to sautéed vegetables. Salt and pepper. Continue frying for another 5–8 minutes until soft.
5. Add the tomatoes, the remaining 6 glasses of water and the liquid in which the mushrooms were soaked. Stew the ingredients with a lid for 30 minutes.
6. Pour a glass of vegetables from the soup into a blender, add 200 ml of broth or hot water and grind the ingredients until smooth. Pour the vegetable mixture back into the pan. This will make the soup more rich.
7. Add parsley, dill and salt to taste and simmer for a few more minutes.

Please note that soups with parsley can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days. You can also add greens just before serving in a plate, rather than in a pan.

The mushroom cap can reach 30 cm in diameter, and individual specimens weigh up to 2.7 kg.

Mushrooms are liked by many housewives: they are not only nutritious, but also fragrant. You can use them when cooking various dishes. This will not only add variety to the diet, but also supplement it with vitamins and other biologically active substances.