You’ve just scored a bunch of mushrooms on sale but now you’re asking yourself, “What’s the best way to preserve mushrooms?” Perhaps you’ve just foraged wild mushrooms and would like to preserve your harvest beyond today. Here are three very basic ways to preserve mushrooms: storing in oil, dehydrating/freeze drying, and pressure canning. Also included is how to use preserved mushrooms in recipes!
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Are Mushrooms Healthy?
Yes! Not only are mushrooms tasty but they’re also full of:
- Potassium
- Fiber
- Antioxidants
They’re also anti-inflammatory!
And with so many mushroom varieties to choose from both in the stores and in the wild, you’re bound to find at least one kind of mushroom that you really love to eat. So much so that you’d like to how to preserve mushrooms for every day use.
What Can I Do With Too Many Mushrooms?
If you have too many mushrooms, you can always eat them three times a day until they run out. Or you can gift them to friends.
However, if you’d like to save their deliciousness for later, the best thing to do with too many mushrooms is to preserve them! With three different methods outlined here, you’re bound to find one that will work for you.
Some methods require nothing more than a jar; others require special equipment. Whichever method of preserving mushrooms you choose, be sure to experiment with the finished product to find your favorite way of eating them up!
Preserve Mushrooms 3 Ways
We’re going to cover three simple ways to preserve mushrooms on a continual basis so that you never run out during the year. These methods are:
- Preserving in Oil
- Dehydrating/Freeze Drying
- Pressure Canning
You might be asking…
Can I Freeze Mushrooms?
Freezing most mushrooms is a simple process:
- Lightly pat the mushrooms dry with a towel.
- Slice them as uniformly as possible.
- Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Freeze until solid and place in a freezer-proof container.
Some mushrooms are preserved better if they’re blanched or steamed first. Grow Your Pantry has a detailed article on Freezing Mushrooms. Having said all that however, freezing mushrooms results in a finished product that can really only be used in cooking. Once frozen and thawed, mushrooms are rather blah.
Freezing is decidedly NOT my favorite way to preserve mushrooms!
Preserve Mushrooms in Oil
For those of us who love the texture of fresh mushrooms, lightly pickling them and putting them in oil is a fantastic way to preserve them! When preserved this way, mushrooms can be added to pasta dishes, scrambled eggs, and served over flaky baked fish.
Please Note:
It’s very important to preserve mushrooms in oil correctly in order to avoid food-borne illness! Mushrooms are a low acid food and require some kind of acidic preparation added to an oil preserve in order to prevent spoilage.
Don’t plan to simply slice mushrooms and put them in a jar of olive oil – that’s not how we safely preserve mushrooms in oil!
Basic Instructions to Preserve Mushrooms in Oil
As I mentioned, this method partially pickles the mushrooms in acid; in this case, vinegar.
- Using 1 lb. clean mushrooms, slice into uniform sizes.
- Bring 2 cups white vinegar, 2 tsps. sea salt, 6 peppercorns, 6 cloves of garlic to a gentle boil and boil for 5-10 minutes to create a flavorful brine.
- Blanch the mushroom slices in the brine in small batches for 1 minute each. The small batches help you process the mushrooms out quickly.
- Place the mushrooms into sterilized pint jars.
- Cover in a light oil like avocado, or something a bit more robust like olive oil.
- Be sure the each mushroom is covered in oil to prevent spoilage.
- Place the lid on each jar and store in the fridge for at least a week before using. This time helps the flavors infuse into the mushrooms.
- These will store in the fridge for 2-3 months.
They most likely won’t last that long since you’ll discover that you love eating these pickled oil mushrooms on just about everything from your morning toast to your evening pasta dish.
How to Dehydrate Mushrooms and/or Freeze Dry Mushrooms
The process for dehydrating mushrooms is basically the same as for freeze drying them; the only real difference is the machine you use!
To Prepare Mushrooms for Dehydrating and Freeze Drying:
- Pat the mushrooms clean/dry.
- Evenly slice each one. The even slices are important when dehydrating and freeze drying because you want the mushrooms to dry at the same rate.
- Place on the trays appropriate for the unit you’ll be using. Lay each mushroom slice flat and don’t stack them on top of each other for uniform drying.
Once dry, the mushrooms should be brittle and light. Freeze dried mushrooms will be extremely light.
Reconstitute Dried Mushrooms
To use dried mushrooms, simply toss them into recipes like soups and casseroles. They will usually reconstitute sufficiently inside the liquids of a recipe.
However, you can also add a bit of hot water to a cup of dried mushrooms to rehydrate them slowly. If you want to enjoy them on pizza, take this step.
Powdered Mushrooms
One of the best things about drying mushrooms is that you can powder them! Powdered mushroom can be added to gravies, soups, smoothies, even chocolates and ice cream. The flavor of mushrooms varies, of course, but many have a sweet tinge after they’ve been dried – something akin to malt.
To Powder Mushrooms:
- Place completely dehydrated or freeze dried mushrooms into a high powered blender.
- Pulse consistently to produce powder.
FYI, a freeze dried mushroom will blend down to a finer powder than a dehydrated one, but both powders are pleasing and useful.
Pressure Canning to Preserve Mushrooms
It is possible to can mushrooms! The consistency of canned mushrooms is about on par with those you preserve by light pickling and oil.
You can use canned mushrooms in much the same in that they’re delicious on/in:
- homemade pizza
- past dishes
- baked chicken recipes
- nourishing soups
- diced in casseroles
Basically, you can put canned mushrooms in anything that you want to taste delicious!
Is Home Pressure Canning Safe?
Yes, home pressure canning is safe! However, if you haven’t done much canning you may ask this question about pressure canner safety because you’ve heard horror stories of exploding canners. Worse, you’ve heard tales of improperly canned foods that cause illness, and even death!
If you’re a nervous canner, I have some advice for you. Even if you’re an experienced canner and you just need new ideas, this advice will work for you.
Learn to Pressure Can Easily
Anyone can learn to use a pressure canner to preserve mushrooms or any other low-acid food by simply following the instructions in Angi Schneider’s Pressure Canning for Beginners and Beyond. I own and use this book and I can promise that this is some of the best pressure canning information you’ll find.
Pressure Canning for Beginner’s and Beyond
This canning book is for real life people who need quality instructions for delicious canned goods that don’t require a food handler’s license to understand. We just want to preserve real food in our real kitchen!
In the book you’ll learn:
- What canning equipment you need to get started
- Safe practices for correct preservation
- Processes and acidity information
- Unique recipes and old favorites
- Information on canning meal-bases and whole meal foods
- Recipes geared toward garden fresh produce and even wild game
- And so much more!
Angi has generously shared her canning recipe for mushrooms below because she wants everyone to learn to enjoy the bounty that can be preserved through pressure canning. Follow her instructions exactly and you will end up with delicious, home-canned mushrooms this year.
Then, go find her book to learn how to can everything else!
Sliced Mushrooms Pressure Canning Recipe
Angi refers to this as a pantry-stocking one and it truly is! The beauty of canning is that you’re essentially creating your own go-to grocery store in your pantry. Today, we start with preserving mushrooms; tomorrow, who knows!
Canned Pantry-Stocking Sliced Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 14 lbs. 6.4kg mushrooms (weight before stems are trimmed)
- 5 cups 1.2 L water
- 4 1/2 tsp. 27 g non-iodized salt (optional)
- 1 1/8 tsp. 11 g ascorbic acid (optional)
- Optional Variations per 1-pint 500-ml Jar:
- 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- For Serving Per 1-Pint 500-ml Jar:
- 1 tsp olive or avocado oil OR
- 1 tsp. butter optional
Instructions
- Prepare the pressure canner, jars and lids. You'll need 18 half-pint (250 ml) or 9 1-pint (500-ml) jars. Fill the canner with a few inches (8cm) of water, according to the manufacturer's instructions, and put the canner on the stove over low heat with the jars inside to stay hot. This is a hot-pack recipe, so the water needs to be about 180°F (82°C).
- Trim the mushroom stems, making sure to cut off any long woody stems. Soak the mushrooms in a large bowl or stockpot of cold water for 10 minutes. Wash the mushrooms in clean water. Slice the mushrooms into pieces of 1/4-inch (6-mm) thickness.
- Put the sliced mushrooms in a large stockpot and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 5 minutes.
- In a separate small stockpot or teakettle, bring 5 cups (1.21 L) of water to a boil and gently boil while you pack the jars with mushrooms.
- Remove the stockpot with mushrooms for the heat. Using a slotted spoon, pack the mushrooms into the jars, leaving a generous 1 inch (2.5 cm) of headspace. Add 1/4 teaspoon of non-iodized salt to half-pint (250-ml) jars and 1/2 teaspoon of non-iodized salt to 1-pint (500-ml) jars. For better color, add 1/16 teaspoon of ascorbic acid per half-pint (250-ml) jar and 1/8 teaspoon of ascorbic acid per 1-pint (500-ml) jar. Add any optional flavoring variations, if desired.
- Add the boiling water to each jar, leaving 1 inch (2.5 cm) of headspace. Remove the bubbles with a bubble removal tool and recheck the headspace. Add more boiling water to the jars to maintain the correct headspace. Wipe the rims with a clean, damp cloth. Put the lids and bands on the jars and load them into the pressure canner.
- Process the jars, according to the manufacturer's instructions, at 10 psi (69 kPa) for 45 minutes for half-pint (250-ml) and 1-pint (500-ml) jars, adjusting for altitude if necessary (see page 21 of Pressure Canning for Beginners and Beyond).
- After processing, allow the canner to depressurize naturally, then remove the jars and let them cool on the counter for at least 12 hours. Check the seals and store the jars for up to 1 year (see page 28 of Pressure Canning for Beginners and Beyond).
Notes
- 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp olive or avocado oil OR
- 1 tsp. butter (optional)
I REEEEEALLY want a freeze dryer… but until then, we’re going to try pressure canning some mushrooms! Great idea!!
Pressure canning works super well and they come out ready to use!
The freeze dryer produces an amazing product but there’s a bit of a learning curve and, honestly, the machine is kind of a diva. Still, you can’t beat the resulting flavor and longevity of storage.
I’m not a mushroom fan, but if it’s hidden in chilis, spaghetti, etc, I can tolerate them. But these are great ideas. Thank you!
With mushroom powder, you can be even stealthier at hiding the shrooms.
This is a great list! I used to not be a mushroom fan, but have really started to appreciate them in the last decade or so.
I am so happy to read this. I always buy small batches of mushrooms because I didn’t know how to preserver for later use. This is awesome.
So glad it was useful! I love having mushrooms on hand but they are super perishable, so preservation is a great blessing.
I’ve never preserved mushrooms before but we do love mushrooms. Thank you for the information about how to preserve them!
You bet, thanks for stopping by!