It's getting to be seafood boiling season and that means getting ready with your ingredients. With the stores starting to have mushrooms on sale (that is a necessity for your boil), can I freeze mushrooms? How long can they be frozen for?
By ann from Poplarville, MS
For what you're going to use them for, yes, you can. Here are two choices:
Freezing Raw (Freeze whole, for use within 3 months) :
Choose very fresh mushrooms; wipe with a clean cloth to remove dirt. Place each a little apart on a baking tray and open-freeze as quickly as possible. When mushrooms are frozen, pack into containers, fit on a lid and replace in freezer. Use within 3 months. Use straight from the freezer for pies, casseroles or stews or thaw for about 1 hour and use as required.
Freezing, Par-boiled:
Wash raw mushrooms. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to 1 quart rapidly boiling water. To keep mushrooms white, add 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice to water. Add mushrooms. Let water come to a boil again. Boil mushrooms 3 minutes. Rinse with cold water. Drain thoroughly. Seal in plastic bags. Freeze. Will keep about one year.
For what we use them for, I clean them and fry them in a little bit of olive oil and butter, along with onions and/or garlic, cool, and freeze in a freezer-baggie.
It's much better to dehydrate mushrooms for storage. I think it improves the flavor of them for many dishes. You can rehydrate them by saoking in warm water for about 15 minutes, or just adding to your dish with a bit extra liquid.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Wipe and slice mushroom. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice to 2 cups of cold water. Add mushrooms, and let stand for 5 minutes. Discard water and saute' in oil or butter, or steam in a veggie steamer. Cool and freeze. The color doesn't change.
A Guide to Freezing Mushrooms. Choose mushrooms that are free from spots and decay. It's best to purchase commercially grown mushrooms.
I have 2 packages of white mushrooms and I would like to know how to freeze them.
