Whenever I have an abundance of any kind of produce my first instinct is to always dehydrate it. Dehydrating is a great way to preserve food without diminishing the nutrients in the produce. Also, when you dehydrate food, the finished product takes up so much less room as apposed to freezing or canning. Today we are dehydrating mushrooms. Mushrooms are a good source of iron, selenium, potassium, & phosphorous. They also contain the vitamins D, C, Niacin, and folate.
To dehydrate mushrooms, just wash each mushroom well first. Then slice each mushroom.
Once they are sliced, place the mushroom slices onto your dehydrator trays.
The end pieces and assorted pieces that you may normally throw away, place on the dehydrator also. These odd end pieces are what you can dehydrate for mushroom powder. Place the trays in your dehydrator and turn it on for about 4-6 hours. When the pieces are completely dry, place the slices in a jar and seal.
The dehydration process really enhances the taste of mushrooms. We use ours in soups, stocks, stews, and casseroles. To rehydrate, soak the mushrooms into hot water and let them soak for 30 minutes and then use them as a pizza topping; in gravies; in spaghetti sauce or toss into an omelet.
The ends and odd pieces I toss into the blender once they are dried and make mushroom powder.
Mushroom powder gives food a "meaty" and earthy flavor without the texture of mushrooms. You still get the boldness and flavor but many people are off-put by the texture so this is one way of getting past that. As a powder, you can sprinkle it into omelets or into a salad. I also like to add a tablespoon or two into soups & stews. Or better yet, add some into meatloaf, burgers or your spaghetti sauce. The ideas or endless.
To dehydrate mushrooms, just wash each mushroom well first. Then slice each mushroom.
Once they are sliced, place the mushroom slices onto your dehydrator trays.
The end pieces and assorted pieces that you may normally throw away, place on the dehydrator also. These odd end pieces are what you can dehydrate for mushroom powder. Place the trays in your dehydrator and turn it on for about 4-6 hours. When the pieces are completely dry, place the slices in a jar and seal.
The dehydration process really enhances the taste of mushrooms. We use ours in soups, stocks, stews, and casseroles. To rehydrate, soak the mushrooms into hot water and let them soak for 30 minutes and then use them as a pizza topping; in gravies; in spaghetti sauce or toss into an omelet.
The ends and odd pieces I toss into the blender once they are dried and make mushroom powder.
Mushroom powder gives food a "meaty" and earthy flavor without the texture of mushrooms. You still get the boldness and flavor but many people are off-put by the texture so this is one way of getting past that. As a powder, you can sprinkle it into omelets or into a salad. I also like to add a tablespoon or two into soups & stews. Or better yet, add some into meatloaf, burgers or your spaghetti sauce. The ideas or endless.
Other powders that I usually make include: Spinach powder, Celery powder, Sassafras powder, and Tomato powder.
Hi! I just wanted to say thank you for your many posts on dehydrating! You have given me so many ideas for dehydrating that I would have not though of otherwise Question: My dehydrator is the same model as yours and the company does not recommend drying aromatic herbs in it and does not say why. What is your take on this? Rose in western NC
ReplyDeleteRose, I am not sure why the manual says that but I have dried herbs in mine before. It could be that since the dehydrator only comes with the trays that herbs could get real dry and fall through the holes and pose a fire risk if the dried herbs fall onto the heating element but to keep that from happening, use parchment paper or jelly roll trays and that would keep that from happening. That is what I do.
DeleteHope this helps....