Honey mushrooms are very popular in cooking - they can be salted, stewed, fried, pickled, prepared on their basis salads, sauces, casseroles and much more. But it is important to know that mushrooms must be properly peeled and boiled, and only then added to various dishes. We tell in detail how and how much honey mushrooms need to be cooked, as well as about all the subtleties and nuances of cooking!
Basic rules for preparing honey agarics
Honey mushrooms are only seemingly tender and soft, but in fact, if prepared incorrectly, they can harm the body. To avoid disruption of the digestive tract and various kinds of poisoning, be very attentive to all stages of preparation of honey agarics for use in your culinary masterpieces.
First you need to peel the mushrooms. In small honey agarics, it is enough to cut off a part of the legs with dirt, if any, with a sharp knife. Also, be sure to inspect the caps and legs for wormholes and damage. They, too, carefully remove with a knife.
In the case of large overgrown mushrooms, the legs are separated from the caps, cut off the damage. The legs can be dried and ground, there are no other options as they are tough and hard. In the form of a ground powder, you can safely add them as a natural mushroom seasoning for the taste and aroma of dishes. It is not necessary to peel the skirt off the honey agaric legs; this does not affect the taste and quality in any way.
It is undesirable to wash mushrooms. Wipe small mushrooms with a dry clean cloth, and clean large ones from dust with a specially purchased toothbrush. If the mushrooms are very dirty, then soak them for an hour in salted water, then wash and let them dry, spreading them out on kitchen towels.
During the cooking process, you should make sure that all mushrooms that have got into your saucepan are suitable for eating. Put a peeled onion and a couple of cloves of garlic in the water along with the mushrooms. If they turn brown, throw away the entire contents of the pan without regret, because you have come across poisonous false mushrooms.
When boiling mushrooms, you can dip a natural silver product, such as a teaspoon, into the water. If it darkens, then the mushrooms need to be thrown away. If the mushrooms have passed all quality tests and do not cause any doubts in you, then you can proceed to the next stages of preparation.
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Boil, boil, honey mushroom!
Before you fry, stew, marinate or freeze mushrooms, you will have to cook them properly. For each type of dish, cooking mushrooms is significantly different, so let's analyze all the nuances in more detail!
1. How and how much to cook honey mushrooms before frying
Fried honey mushrooms are a special, incomparable, incredibly aromatic and tasty dish. It can be served as an independent snack or as an addition to pasta and porridge, boiled or fried potatoes.
Before sending the mushrooms to the pan, boil them. To do this, put an enameled pan on the stove; there should be no scratches or chips of enamel inside the container. It is important! Pour water into a saucepan, salt at the rate of 0.5 tablespoon per 1 liter of liquid.
When the water boils, gently transfer the mushrooms into it. In the process of cooking, remove the rising foam with a slotted spoon. Cook for half an hour. Then drain the water, rinse the mushrooms. Bring the salted water to a boil in a saucepan again, put honey mushrooms in it and cook for another 25 minutes. Then everything is simple: put the mushrooms in a colander, let the excess moisture drain and you can fry.
2. How to cook honey mushrooms before pickling and pickling
An excellent preparation for the winter is a jar of salted or pickled honey agarics. Place the pre-peeled mushrooms in a stainless steel pot or in an enamel pot (with a perfectly intact inner lining). Add a couple tablespoons of salt and pour boiling water over so that it completely covers the mushroom mass. Boil for 10 - 15 minutes, constantly skimming off the foam. Then the honey agarics should be washed, again filled with salted boiling water.When the mushrooms start to sink to the bottom, you can remove them from the stove.
3. How and how much to cook honey mushrooms for soup and casseroles
If you intend to cook a fragrant honey mushroom soup, or make a casserole, filling for pies, caviar and the like, then the mushrooms must also be pre-cooked. Pour the prepared mushrooms with boiling water, add 1 tablespoon of salt to two liters of water, 1 peeled onion, a couple of bay leaves, peppercorns and cook for 20 minutes. Then drain the broth, it is not good for food, discard the spices and onion. Let the mushrooms cool down, cut them into small pieces and add according to the recipe to any dish.
4. How to cook honey mushrooms for freezing
Raw mushrooms cannot be frozen, they should be boiled and cooled beforehand. If you pack mushrooms before sending them to the freezer in small plastic bags or special containers, then you will not have to defrost the entire volume, which will allow you to more efficiently use portioned mushroom blanks for cooking your favorite dishes.
Pour the mushrooms prepared in advance into a saucepan with salted boiling water. If the mushrooms are young, then boil them for no more than 25 minutes. If you come across older mushrooms, then it will take about 40 - 45 minutes to cook them. Then put the mushrooms in a colander, rinse with running water so that all the mucus is glass. When the mushrooms are dry, transfer them to freezer containers and store them in the freezer.
When you need to cook some tasty dish from frozen mushrooms, you just have to remove them from the bag and immediately put them in a saucepan or pan. You do not need to defrost the mushrooms before this. Otherwise, they will lose too much moisture, become rubbery, dry and completely unpalatable.
5. How much to cook mushrooms in a slow cooker
If you have a slow cooker, then you can safely use it to cook mushrooms. To do this, you must first soak the mushrooms in clean salted water for a couple of hours. Then drain the water and rinse the mushrooms under running water several times. After transferring them to a multicooker sieve, place a bowl of water under it. Add honey mushrooms a little. Cook on Steam for 20 to 25 minutes.
The process of boiling honey agaric in a double boiler will be similar. Spread the mushrooms evenly on a tray, press the button with the vegetables and mushrooms, or set the timer for 25 - 30 minutes, depending on the power of your device. After the beep, turn off the double boiler and let the mushrooms cool down right on the pallet.
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Useful Tips
With regard to the use of honey agarics in cooking, there are a number of important recommendations:
- Fresh honey mushrooms cannot be stored in a bag or in the refrigerator, since they very quickly deteriorate. As soon as you bring them home, immediately clean and boil;
- It is advisable to clean the mushrooms from the film on the cap, debris and dirt can get under it, which will then be unpleasant to grind on your teeth during a meal;
- On the same stump with edible mushrooms, false, poisonous mushrooms often grow. It is almost impossible to distinguish them by their appearance. To avoid danger, buy mushrooms that have been grown in an industrial way is better;
- Dishes from honey agaric are heavy food for digestion. In no case should they be given to children under 12 years of age and the elderly with gastrointestinal disorders;
- For adults and healthy people, honey mushrooms are an irreplaceable source of a number of valuable vitamins, microelements and important protein compounds. Dishes with these mushrooms are very useful for anemia and thyroid diseases.
