How to Process and Store Mushrooms at Home?

Full baskets can be admired in the hands of passionate mushroom pickers during autumn days, both on the way back from the forest and on social networks. The mushroom season is in full swing, and for lovers of fresh mushrooms the smell of home becomes literally intoxicating at this time. Mushrooms are a food like any other. You will surely enjoy a large portion of them in many ways soon after you clean and slice them. But what about all those leftover mushrooms? Read how to process and then store mushrooms so they don't spoil and retain their original nutritional values for a long time!

Use drying nets

If you dry mushrooms properly, they won't lose any of their nutritional value. Drying nets have therefore been a practical tool for mushroom pickers for some time now. Depending on the diameter or number of tiers, you can easily choose from a wide range of options according to how much fragrant autumn harvest has started to accumulate at home. The individual tiers together form a considerable drying area, allowing you to dry a heap of carefully cleaned and sliced mushrooms at home without taking up too much space indoors, since drying nets are by nature very space-efficient. And because the sliced mushrooms won't be everywhere you look, you can focus only on the ideal places for drying mushrooms — shady and well-ventilated spots.

High-quality drying nets are also useful year-round for indoor cultivation (see the separate article: Home mushroom cultivation). Besides mushrooms, they are also intended, for example, for drying herbs grown in a grow tent.

TightVac airtight containers have you covered

The mushrooms are well dried, it's worth not underestimating their storage. And we don't mean just the classic advice like: “Put the mushrooms in jars and store them somewhere dark.” There is a much more sophisticated solution available that, similar to drying nets, allows for universal use beyond mushroom storage. TightVac airtight containers will serve you well for smart storage of practically any type of food you can think of! Transparent or opaque storage containers in various sizes will not let even strong aromas escape, which are inseparably associated with some types of produce and which you don't want to smell throughout your apartment.

The airtight food containers shown in the picture operate on the principle of vacuum. They protect your foods from external moisture over the long term and at the same time prevent unwanted odors accumulated inside the storage container from escaping. They are made of food-safe plastic that also endures some wear. That's another subtle but major advantage over ordinary jars, which require careful handling every time so that, over time, you don't end up like Cinderella sorting broken glass off the floor due to a moment of carelessness. And cheap plastic substitutes are hardly worth mentioning.

Maintaining optimal humidity inside the storage container is key for preserving mushrooms

And it takes very little! Storing mushrooms in a way that keeps them a source of strong flavor and part of a healthy diet even after a long time requires one more clever trick. It's small, inexpensive, and yet it will ensure that the storage container maintains ideal humidity, preventing the sad scenarios of overly dried mushrooms or, worse, mold caused by excessive moisture, which would mean the complete spoilage of the stored mushrooms. From the perspective of mold prevention, it is generally not recommended to wash freshly picked mushrooms with water; instead, before drying (see above), clean them thoroughly with a knife. You are surely wondering what the simple and popular tool is for perfectly balanced humidity. We won't keep you in suspense. They are bags with patented Integra Boost technology, which we've mentioned on our blog several times. From the detailed description of each variant you will learn how simple their use is.

In the picture you can see which package size to use based on the size or weight of your harvest. Thirdly, Integra Boost two-way humidity control is useful not only for storing mushrooms but also for dried herbs and other types of food from fruits and vegetables to favorite coffee or tea. And what does two-way humidity control actually mean in practice? The patented technology either releases or absorbs moisture. This achieves optimal humidity in a closed environment, which the Integra Boost packs then maintain until the intelligent, easy-to-read indicator card clearly signals with a blue color that it's time to use a fresh pack.

Now it's up to you whether you save time and complications with the tools mentioned above, or stick with the oven, radiators, and jars. To finish, let's briefly summarize all our recommendations for processing and storing mushrooms for easier reference:

1. Do not rinse freshly picked mushrooms with water; carefully clean them with a knife.
2. Place sliced mushrooms into the individual tiers of the drying net.
3. When hanging the drying net, choose a shady and well-ventilated spot.
4. Transfer well-dried mushrooms into a TightVac airtight container made of food-safe plastic — not only for practical reasons but mainly to preserve original properties and beneficial nutrients for the long term.
5. Ensure optimal humidity inside the storage container so your mushrooms stay in perfect condition all year or even longer by using bags with patented Integra Boost.

Remember that if you would like to ask us anything about storing your harvest, we are here for you at the usual email address info@higarden.cz.

We also recommend these products:

• Biotabs Starterpack
• PLANT!T GEMINI - Hydroponic recirculation system
• Plant Success Mycorrhizae Great White Granular 1

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