How to clean oyster mushrooms - this question may concern not only mushroom pickers, but also housewives who bought mushrooms in the store. Indeed, oyster mushrooms have a number of features, knowing which you can easily process and cook them.

Description and where to meet

Oyster mushrooms are edible mushrooms, widely known due to their mass production and excellent taste. In the wild, common in temperate forests. They grow in large colonies on almost all species of deciduous trees, stumps and dead trees. Seven oyster mushrooms are found in our latitudes; only one of them is cultivated - oyster. In appearance, cultural ones do not differ from wild ones.

These mushrooms have a fleshy dark gray hat, sometimes with a purple or brown tint. The size of the hats is quite large, from 5 to 15 cm in diameter. The shapes of the hats can be different - round, conch-shaped, ear-shaped. Legs are short, white, grow together at the base, forming bundles or intergrowths. Oyster mushrooms bear fruit all summer, but the largest crops are brought from September to November.

Learn also about the features of growing oyster mushrooms.

How to collect, process after collection

Oyster mushrooms grown at home are harvested when the hats reach a size of 4-7 cm, this is considered the technical maturity of the fungus. The edges should not be fully deployed. The joints must be unscrewed in a circular motion, leaving no residue. In one splice, mushrooms are usually of different sizes, you need to collect everything, because the rest will die. Wild mushrooms are harvested according to the same rules, but they are not twisted, but cut with a knife. It is very important that the mushrooms are absolutely dry when harvested.

Oyster mushrooms can not be eaten raw, because the protein contained in them is absorbed by a person only after heat treatment.

The collected mushrooms should not be hermetically sealed in cellophane, because due to large hats they condense moisture very quickly and can deteriorate. Better put in veneer baskets and place in the refrigerator. Store no more than 6 hours before cooking. At a temperature of + 2 ° C, you can store 10-12 days.

Video: How to collect oyster mushrooms

Do I need to clean and how to clean oyster mushrooms

Proper cleaning should be done using the following technology:

1. After collecting, the sprouts need to be divided by hand into small portions, preferably in separate mushrooms.
2. Trim all spoiled and dry parts.
3. If the mushroom is very young, then leave the leg, cut only its bottom with dirt. If the mushroom is large, then remove most of the legs.
4. Wipe each mushroom with a dry kitchen sponge or a cloth from small debris.

How to process before cooking, use

Before cooking oyster mushrooms, they must be thoroughly washed with running water. Even if they are bought in a store and look clean, they still need to be washed, dirt can be between the plates of the mushroom cap. It is convenient to do this in a colander. Important! The oyster mushroom leg can be left only in very young mushrooms. With age, it becomes very tough. If you have forest mushrooms that contain more debris, you can first pour them with cold water for 20 minutes, mix, and then sort it out with your hands and do the whole procedure. If you are not going to cook oyster mushrooms right away, then you need to dry them on a paper towel after washing .

Taste qualities and useful properties

Oyster mushrooms are highly regarded for their taste. Their flesh is very tender, juicy, has a special mushroom aroma, with notes of anise. Ready mushrooms resemble champignons or ceps. Oyster mushrooms have a low calorie content, only 40 kcal, so it can be used in diet food. In addition, it acts well on the intestines due to its fiber content.

Even a small portion of these mushrooms can satisfy hunger. The amount of protein is slightly inferior to meat. Lower cholesterol, which is important for the elderly. Oyster mushrooms contain a large amount of vitamins necessary for a person - a complex of vitamins of group B, vitamin C, vitamin PP, D2, E, minerals.

Also read our electronic magazine about growing mushrooms at home.

How to cook

Oyster mushrooms can be fried, boiled, stewed, pickled and salted. From dried, you can even make a seasoning that is suitable for meat and vegetable dishes. A few recommendations to the hostesses:

1. When cooking, oyster mushrooms are cut into pieces so that they are better fried or boiled. Mushrooms can be left whole for pickling.
2. You need to cook these mushrooms for no more than 20 minutes, otherwise they lose their taste. This should be considered when cooking soups.
3. If you want to fry raw oyster mushrooms, you need to put them in one layer in a pan, add a little oil and fry until all the water has evaporated, and then add the remaining oil. For frying, oyster mushrooms are cut into small pieces.
4. Oyster mushrooms go well with cereals, meat. But they, like other mushrooms, are not suitable for fish.

Oyster mushrooms after collection require cleaning and processing. Knowing the basic rules, it will not be difficult to do this.