Mushrooms chanterelles are not only extremely tasty, but are considered the most useful among the long list of representatives of the mushroom kingdom. An impressive arsenal of vitamins, various elements and minerals, contained in chanterelles, not only improves the performance of all body systems, but also helps to cope with a number of ailments. Especially rich are chanterelles with vitamin C and D, and also contain selenium and insecticidal substances. The latter are known for their harmful effects on harmful organisms and parasites, which is an excellent prophylaxis against helminthiosis and other similar diseases.
As you know, chanterelles need to be used or processed within the first five hours after the cut, otherwise they begin to accumulate unprofitable metabolites. The ideal option would be beyond any doubt frozen. But what to do if there is no possibility to keep chanterelles in the freezer compartment? An alternative way to preserve these valuable mushrooms and all their properties, both flavoring and useful, is drying them. About how to properly dry the chanterelles at home we will talk further.
For drying it is necessary to select fresh, strong specimens without wormholes and dents. The legs are not used for drying, and the hats are cleaned of dirt, moss and sand with a napkin, but in no case are they washed.
Can I dry the chanterelles for the winter in the sun?
Many people are wondering whether it is possible to dry chanterelles in the sun. In fact, this is the most preferred method of harvesting mushrooms. For air drying, prepared hats thread on dense yarns or lay out on a grate, additionally cover with a gauze cut from flies and insects and placed under the sun's rays. Such drying is possible only on hot days and should last about a week. It is ideal to fry the chanterelles in the sun, and then dry it in another accessible way. This can be the use of an oven, a stove or an electric dryer .
How to dry chanterelles in the oven?
Before you send the chanterelles for drying in the oven, it must be heated to a temperature of 60-65 degrees, and the mushroom hoods spread on a baking tray or grill. The door of the device must be ajar during the entire drying process to ensure better air circulation.
How to dry chanterelles in an electric dryer?
For drying chanterelles in an electric dryer they are laid out on pallets and set up the device for temperature conditions as when baking in the oven. At sixty degrees, the chanterelles will dry properly and become suitable for long-term storage.
It is impossible to say exactly how long it will take to dry the chanterelles in one way or another. Everything depends on the size and juiciness of fungi, as well as on the attendant conditions. On average, in a dryer, chanterelles dry from seven to ten hours.
Periodically check the degree of availability of the product and, if necessary, remove the finished copies. In the drying process, chanterelles dry up usually ten times. Of the ten kilograms of raw materials, we will end up with only one kilogram of dried mushrooms.
Correctly dried chanterelles well bend and bend, a little spring and do not break. It is necessary to learn to determine visually such a degree of drying and remove the mushrooms in time. If you missed the moment and the chanterelles were dried - they became brittle, then it is better to grind them in a coffee grinder into a mushroom powder.
How to dry chanterelles in a microwave oven?
Chanterelles can be dried in a microwave. To do this, we lay the mushrooms in one layer on the grate and maintain at the minimum power two cycles of twenty minutes, with an interval of five minutes for ventilation and vapor exit from the device.