Dried chanterelle mushrooms: how to dry chanterelles at home

Preparing mushrooms for drying

The harvested chanterelles must first be sorted. It is advisable to sort the mushrooms by size, since the drying time depends on this. Identical mushrooms will dry out more evenly.

There is no need to wash the chanterelles. It is better to simply wipe dirty areas with a damp and clean dishwashing sponge. The lower part of the legs is cut off with a sharp knife.

If the mushroom caps are very large, they will need to be cut in half.

How to dry chanterelles at home

Drying naturally

You can dry mushrooms in the sun without using additional equipment. To do this, the chanterelles are laid out in one layer on a flat surface covered with a sheet of paper and placed on a windowsill or balcony.

You can collect “beads” from mushrooms. To do this, the caps are strung on a thick thread and hung in a well-ventilated area.

Also, in a natural way, faces can dry on a regular cabinet.In this case, the surface of the cabinet is lined with paper, and the mushrooms are covered with napkins on top, without pressing them tightly.

Any of these methods are quite time-consuming. Drying time – 7 – 14 days. It will depend on the size of the mushrooms, the conditions of their collection and weather conditions.

The optimal option is when the mushrooms are dried in the sun for several days and then finally dried in the oven.

In the oven

Place the mushrooms on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, keeping a small distance between the caps. It is very convenient to use special grates, which are often included with the oven.

The stove is heated to a temperature of 40 - 45 degrees and the chanterelles are placed there. To ensure air flow, the oven door is left ajar. To do this, you can place a towel or oven mitt in the gap.

After 2 hours, the temperature is increased to 55 - 60 degrees. And the mushrooms periodically begin to be taken out and mixed. To make drying more even, it is recommended to rearrange the hats: those that were closer to the door should be moved deeper into the cabinet and vice versa.

Drying time varies depending on the size of the mushrooms. Those that are already ready should be removed, and the rest should be left to dry. Typically it takes 8-10 hours to dry one batch.

Watch the video from the “Useful Tips” channel - How to properly dry mushrooms for the winter in the oven

In an electric dryer

Typically, these units are equipped with a mode specializing in drying mushrooms. If there is one, then you just need to set the desired temperature and wait for the result. If there is no such mode, then the chanterelles need to be dried for the first 2 - 3 hours at a temperature of 50 degrees, and then switch the device to a temperature of 60 degrees, and dry the mushrooms until tender.

Products in trays should be distributed evenly in one layer, and trays should be swapped during the dehydration process.

The total time for drying chanterelles in an electric dryer will be approximately 9 – 10 hours.

A video from the MrGerVick channel will tell you how to properly dry chanterelle mushrooms

In a convection oven

Chanterelles dry very quickly in the air fryer, in just an hour and a half. For this method, set the temperature on the unit to 60 degrees and set the maximum blowing power. The lid should be kept slightly open to ensure good ventilation.

In the microwave

Disadvantages of this method:

• it is very energy-intensive;
• Only small batches of mushrooms can be dried.

The chanterelles are placed on a flat container or wire rack. The power of the unit is set to 180 W and the time is set to 20 minutes. After the signal, remove the mushrooms and allow to cool for 5 minutes. During this time, the oven should also be ventilated with the door open.

At the final stage, the container with mushrooms is placed in the microwave for another 20 minutes. If this time is not enough, then the procedure is repeated.

In a refrigerator

In order to dry the mushrooms by cold, they are laid out on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator in one layer. Before doing this, the shelf should be covered with a sheet of paper. Drying time – 1 – 2 weeks.

A video from the “Useful Tips” channel will tell you more about this method - How to dry mushrooms without an oven

How to store dry chanterelles

You can store dry mushrooms in pieces or in the form of mushroom powder. To do this, the drying powder is ground with a regular coffee grinder.

The powder is stored in glass jars, and whole mushrooms are stored in tin or wooden containers, as well as in cotton bags. The storage place should be dry and dark.