How long to boil mushrooms

"How long should I boil mushrooms?" is a question that comes up every time the pot is already on the stove. There's no one-size-fits-all answer: the time depends both on the type of mushroom and on what you're making next, soup, a fry-up or a preserve for winter. We've put together a clear cheat sheet so your mushrooms turn out both tasty and safe.

What boiling time depends on

Go by two simple factors:

• How dense the mushroom is. Firm boletes like porcini take longer to cook, while thin-fleshed ones like slippery jacks are ready sooner.
• What comes next. Before frying, a short boil is enough; before freezing or pickling, a bit longer; and for soup, they finish cooking right in the broth.

Fresh wild mushrooms are almost always worth boiling before the main cooking: it makes them safer and gets rid of the forest aftertaste and leftover debris.

How long to boil popular mushrooms

Approximate times for fresh mushrooms, counted from when the water boils:

• **Porcini** — 30–40 minutes. Large pieces closer to 40.
• Brown birch boletes and orange boletes — 40–50 minutes; they're dense and take the longest.
• **Honey fungus** — 30 minutes, no less: the first 5–10 minutes in one water, then drain it and finish cooking in fresh water.
• **Slippery jacks** — 20–30 minutes.
• Xerocomus boletes and bovine boletes — 20–30 minutes.
• **Chanterelles** — 20 minutes, no longer, because overcooked they turn "rubbery."
• Brittlegills — 20–30 minutes.
• Agaricus mushrooms (store-bought or wild) — 10–15 minutes, the quickest of all.

A mushroom is done when it sinks to the bottom of the pot instead of floating on the surface. It's a handy folk sign that the boiling is finished.

How long to boil before frying, soup and freezing

The time depends on your goal:

1. Before frying. Boil the mushrooms for 15–20 minutes, drain them in a colander and only then fry them. That way they won't release extra water in the pan and will be safer. Many people fry porcini and Agaricus mushrooms without boiling, but for other wild mushrooms this step is advisable.
2. For soup. Mushrooms are cooked right in the broth for as long as listed for each type above. Dried mushrooms are soaked before going into soup and then boiled for 30–40 minutes.
3. Before freezing. Thin-fleshed mushrooms (honey fungus, slippery jacks) are best boiled for 15–20 minutes, drained, cooled and only then frozen. Read more in our article how to freeze mushrooms for winter.
4. Before pickling. Boil the mushrooms until done (until they sink to the bottom), then cover them with marinade, as described in the basic recipe.

Do you need to drain the first water

For most choice mushrooms, porcini, brown birch boletes, chanterelles, it isn't necessary: one boil is enough. But honey fungus and some conditionally edible mushrooms are best boiled in two waters: boil for the first 5–10 minutes, drain, cover with fresh boiling water and finish cooking. This makes the mushrooms softer and rids them of a bitter aftertaste.

Dried mushrooms are first soaked in cold water or milk for 1–2 hours, and if that water is clean, you can even add it to soup for aroma.

Important: boiling does not neutralize poison

The most dangerous mistake is thinking that long boiling makes any mushroom safe. It doesn't. The deadly toxins of the death cap and other poisonous mushrooms withstand boiling, and no pot will neutralize them. Boiling only helps with conditionally edible mushrooms, which are fit to eat after processing anyway.

So the main rule stays the same: only put mushrooms you're sure of in the pot. We've gathered more on dangerous myths, including the "boiling test," in a separate article on myths about identifying poisonous mushrooms.

Sources

• "Vyznachnyk hrybiv Ukrainy" (Identification Guide to the Mushrooms of Ukraine; Kyiv, Naukova Dumka publishing house).
• Edible mushroom on Wikipedia, the section on preparation.
• General guidelines on cooking wild mushrooms.