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Freezing

Honey fungus (Armillaria mellea)

With the arrival of home freezers, freezing became one of the most popular ways to preserve mushrooms. This method keeps the texture, color and fresh aroma of many forest species as intact as possible (unlike drying or pickling, which fundamentally change the flavor).

However, as culinary experts and mycologists warn, you need to freeze mushrooms wisely.

9 species in the database.

Two rules of freezing

David Arora and M.Ya. Zerova describe two completely different techniques, depending on the mushroom's edibility class:

This method is suitable ONLY for fully edible first-category mushrooms that contain no bitterness and no heat-labile toxins.

- Which mushrooms: Porcini (Boletus edulis), chanterelle, Agaricus mushrooms, Leccinum boletes.

- How: Clean the mushrooms thoroughly of sand with a brush (preferably don't wash them, so they don't soak up water like a sponge), slice them and freeze. After thawing they can go straight into the frying pan.

This method is MANDATORY for all conditionally edible mushrooms.

- Why: The freezer does NOT DESTROY toxins. If you freeze raw honey fungus, it will remain toxic. Besides, some mushrooms (like chanterelles picked in dry weather) can turn very bitter after being frozen raw. Boiling also greatly reduces the volume of the mushrooms (they lose water), which saves space in the freezer.

- Which mushrooms: Honey fungus, Tricholoma (knights), brittlegills (so they don't crumble), lurid boletes.

- How: Boil the mushrooms for 15-20 minutes (pouring off the poisonous cooking water!), rinse with cold water, squeeze out excess moisture and only then pack them into freezer bags.

Questions and answers

How long can you keep frozen mushrooms?
At -18°C, boiled mushrooms keep for up to 1 year (until the next season). Raw frozen mushrooms (especially porcini) are best used within 6-8 months, as over time they can lose their aroma or absorb freezer smells.
Can you freeze milk caps?
No, that's a bad idea. Milk caps (Lactarius resimus, woolly milk caps) contain an acrid milky latex. Freezing doesn't neutralize it. These mushrooms are meant only for long salting and lactic acid fermentation.

Sources

  1. 1.Зерова М.Я. та ін. Визначник грибів України. 1979
  2. 2.Roger Phillips. Mushrooms (Roger Phillips)
  3. 3.David Arora. Mushrooms Demystified
  4. 4.Index Fungorum