Do I need to wash champignons before freezing? How to properly freeze fresh champignons? Preparing champignons for freezing

Champignons are affordable, healthy and tasty mushrooms. There is an easy way to provide yourself with champignons all year round. This easy way is freezing at home. Yes, you can freeze champignons.

• If the champignons have been in the refrigerator for more than two days. It's better to freeze them, because... Fresh champignons cannot be stored for more than three days.
• In winter, champignons are cheaper, buy a couple of kilograms, freeze them, and you won’t regret it.
• Having frozen champignons on hand always allows you to make something delicious: pizza with mushrooms, mushroom soup, etc.

How to prepare champignons for freezing

• Selection of fruits. Young, fresh, not large fruits are suitable for freezing.
• Washing mushrooms. The champignons are washed under running water. During this, all surface microorganisms that may not die when frozen are removed.
• Cleaning mushrooms. Mushrooms are cleaned, this gives the fruit a more delicate taste. The bottom of the stem is always cut off, even if the mushrooms are not cleaned.
• Slicing mushrooms. If there are a lot of mushrooms, they are cut into small pieces. This process speeds up the cooking of some dishes. If the mushrooms are small, do not cut them to avoid darkening of the cut after defrosting.
• Removing moisture. Regardless of the form in which the mushrooms are frozen, they are dried beforehand and the moisture is allowed to evaporate. Otherwise, in the freezer all the fruits will stick together and you will end up with one big lump of ice.
• Preparing containers (bags) for champignons. Vacuum bags work best for storage. They are washed and dried.
• The size of the bags is selected according to one required portion for cooking.
• Champignons that have already been thawed cannot be re-frozen.

Four easy ways to process champignons before freezing

1. The easiest way is to freeze fresh champignons. The mushrooms, dried from moisture, are placed in a bag, tightly closed and placed in the freezer. This method preserves all the nutrients in the mushrooms.
2. Blanching champignons improves their appearance, the fruits do not darken. Small champignons are blanched with steam for 1 to 2 minutes, large ones for 3 to 4 minutes. After blanching, the mushrooms must be placed in a 1% citric acid solution for several minutes. This process speeds up freezing. The mushrooms are dried, placed in a container, tightly closed and frozen.
3. Boiled champignons can also be frozen. Boil the mushrooms for no more than 10 minutes, place in a colander, allow to drain and dry. Place in bags and put in the freezer.
4. Fried champignons are good because they can be used immediately in dishes. Mushrooms are fried until moisture is completely removed, cooled, dried, tightly packed and frozen.

Storing frozen champignons at home

• Store in refrigerators at a temperature of no more than –18°, air humidity 95%. Changing temperature conditions is not recommended.
• Champignons that have been subjected to heat treatment are stored for 6 months.
• Champignons that are frozen fresh can be stored for up to 1 year.

Frozen champignons in a vacuum bag

The video describes in detail how to freeze champignons prepared by frying.

Champignon mushrooms are used to prepare many dishes. They are grown artificially, so they are sold in stores all year round. But there are situations when you need mushrooms urgently, but you forgot to buy them. This is where the question arises: how to freeze fresh champignons so that you have them on hand all year round.

Freezing fresh mushrooms

Young people will not do such work, because they believe that this semi-finished product can be bought in the supermarket at any time of the year. The only thing they don’t take into account is that you can buy fresh mushrooms cheaper and freeze them yourself instead of overpaying for it.

Making raw champignons at home is very simple. The process consists of two stages:

• preparation of raw materials;
• treatment;
• placement in the refrigerator.

Selection of raw materials and preparation

When the product is washed and dried, you need to decide in what form it will be frozen. Since each person has his own habits and preferences, further preparation of the preparations will be different for everyone.

Freezing raw

The great thing about this is that before using such a workpiece, it does not need to be thawed first.

Cooking uses of fried mushrooms

Now at any time you can prepare from this preparation:

If you have time to prepare mushrooms, you can boil or fry them before freezing. This will speed up cooking later.

It’s easy to cook fried mushrooms and then freeze them. During cooking, it is advisable not to add spices and onions to them - this will need to be done later, during the preparation of the main dish.

They can be used in different ways: , . Some housewives prefer them. This is very convenient, because it is always at hand. Any day you can defrost a portion and prepare a flavorful dish.

Preparing mushrooms

Before you freeze them in the freezer, you need to properly prepare for this:

• Only the freshest mushrooms are selected, bright white in color, without dents or stains, and medium in size.
• should be rinsed thoroughly. Some housewives wash them thoroughly in cold water without cleaning them. Others recommend doing this in warm water: this will soften the cap and stem, which will help them clean quickly.
• Clean mushrooms need to be dried: they are laid out on a napkin for 20-30 minutes until it completely absorbs the water. It will turn out faster if you blot each mushroom with a paper towel.
• Cut off the excess: the root system and darkened areas.

Freezing fresh champignons

Anyone who has decided to start freezing for the first time has a question: can they be frozen raw or do they need to be prepared somehow? Experienced housewives willingly prepare fresh mushrooms. This takes a minimum of time, and later you can prepare any dish from them. When freshly frozen, they are stored for 1 year at a temperature of -18 °C.

Entirely

Clean, dried mushrooms are prepared for freezing as follows:

1. If they are small, you can put them in the refrigerator whole.
2. Lovers of stuffed mushrooms can freeze only the caps, carefully separating them from the stems.
3. To begin, place the mushrooms in a clean food container, plastic bag, or zip-top bag.
4. You need to release the air from the bag, close it tightly and place it in the freezer.
5. Whole mushrooms can be baked with fish or.

Sliced

Generally, sliced ​​mushrooms are used more often than whole ones. When freezing this type of mushroom, you must:

1. Cut the washed champignons into equal slices.
2. They should not be frozen in bulk, but in a thin layer: frozen pieces are very fragile and can break. To do this, you can use a flat surface, such as a baking sheet, a sheet of foil or a cutting board.
3. The surface with the mushroom pieces laid out is placed in the upper section of the freezer so that they freeze quickly.
4. After a few hours, when they freeze, they can already be poured into one bag or container and sent back to the freezer.
5. These champignons are perfect for soup, mushroom sauce, as a filling for pies and as a side dish for.

Did you know? The first time champignons were grown artificially was in 1650 near Paris. After 100 years, a technique for their year-round cultivation was developed.

Other freezing methods

How else can you freeze champignons at home so that you have enough for the whole winter? Boiled and fried.

Boiled

Boiled mushrooms are prepared as follows:

1. Place fresh, washed mushrooms in a saucepan, add water, add salt and put on fire.
2. When they boil, boil for another 10-15 minutes.
3. Then the boiled champignons are placed in a colander to drain the water.
4. When cool and dry, the mushrooms are poured into a storage container and placed in the freezer.
5. When boiled, they are stored for six months.

Fried

Even fried champignons can be frozen:

1. To do this, the prepared mushrooms need to be cut into slices and placed in a heated frying pan, greased with oil. No need to add salt.
2. They should be fried over medium heat until the moisture has completely evaporated.
3. You can bake them in the oven without oil.
4. The cooled mushrooms should be transferred to a storage container and placed in the freezer, where they can remain for about 6 months.

How long does it last in the freezer?

Champignons, like other products, have their own shelf life, which depends on storage conditions:

• Mushrooms can remain open in the refrigerator for 3 days, then they darken, become chapped, and are no longer recommended to be eaten;
• under cling film at the same temperature, the shelf life increases to 6 days, after which they become hazardous to health.

But frozen champignons can be stored much longer. At a temperature of -18 °C, any mushrooms are stored until the next season, and at -20 °C they can last longer. In the case of champignons, this is not necessary, since they are grown artificially and are available for sale almost the whole year.

Typically frozen mushrooms are stored:

• fresh - 1 year;
• boiled and fried - six months or longer.

How to defrost correctly

To ensure that food remains both tasty and healthy after freezing, it should be defrost correctly:

• You do not need to defrost the entire batch of mushrooms, but only the required portion, because they cannot be re-frozen.
• The defrosting process should be gradual. Therefore, the required amount of champignons is transferred from the freezer to the refrigerator for several hours, preferably overnight.
• Many dishes, such as soups and baked goods, do not need to be defrosted.

Important! Mushrooms should not be re-frozen, otherwise they will lose not only their shape, but also their nutritional value.

Freezing champignons is quick and easy, especially if you have fresh mushrooms that do not need to be trimmed. This preparation will definitely help you out if you want to prepare mushroom dishes, for example: mushroom sauce, mushroom caviar, bake potatoes with mushrooms, or simply fry them in a frying pan. For freezing, select fresh champignons that are not subject to rotting or spoiled by worms. If you want to freeze wild mushrooms, first make sure the mushrooms are edible! It is best to buy mushrooms in a supermarket or store - they sell artificially grown champignons.

Ingredients

• 400 g champignons

Preparation

1. Wash fresh champignons in water, removing all dirt, dust and dark spots - often this is just soil. If there are more serious stains on the mushrooms, simply cut them off with a sharp knife. Remember that the mushrooms absorb water during washing, so do not leave them in it for a long time. Place the washed mushrooms in a bowl and let them dry for 1-2 hours.

2. After this, cut each mushroom in half, and then into thin slices or cubes - as you wish. For baking, it is best to cut the mushrooms into slices, and for frying, into cubes. Remember that sliced ​​mushrooms darken very quickly when exposed to air, so act as quickly as possible.

3. Prepare containers or freezer bags in advance and pour the champignon slices into them, dividing them into portions. Tie the bags or tightly seal the containers with the cuttings and place them in the freezer.

There are different situations, sometimes purchased champignons can be stale and then you need to have time to freeze them, or you want to specially freeze champignons, to be sure that your freezer has a supply of these delicious mushrooms, with which you can prepare many delicious dishes. Freezing champignons requires very little time and effort. When eating frozen champignons, you do not need to defrost them in advance; just put them in a saucepan or frying pan without defrosting.

Ingredients

To freeze champignons you will need:

champignons - any quantity;

containers (or simple plastic bags) - as needed.

Cooking steps

Be sure to dry each mushroom individually with a towel. For these purposes, it is convenient to use a terry towel, since it leaves virtually no traces of moisture on the mushrooms.

Place the chopped champignons in a bag or container.

Tie the bag tightly and close the container tightly with a lid. And in this form, send the champignons to the freezer. Frozen champignons are thus perfect for preparing delicious dishes.

Bon appetit!