Drying chanterelles - How to do it right!

No sooner does the mushroom season begin than it draws to a close. But of course we want to have something of it all year round. Drying chanterelles is the solution to this problem! How it works and what you have to pay attention to, you read here!

Vegetable soup, sauces, rice, pasta - chanterelles make so many dishes tastier.

Once collected and dried, you can enjoy the fresh aroma from the forest all year round.

And the chanterelles, as they are called in Austria, are not even difficult to collect. 1-2 days after the rain they sprout from August in almost every forest. You can easily take them for a walk and preserve them for the winter.

Here you will learn how chanterelle drying really works and what mistakes you should not make.

By the way: I grind the chanterelles after drying with the food processor and mix the mushroom powder with salt. Mega convenient for all dishes that can tolerate salt and a little mushroom flavor.

Yummy! Scrambled eggs with chanterelles!

How to preserve chanterelles?

You can either freeze or dry the mushrooms. By drying chanterelles retain almost all the flavor - all you remove with this method is water. This makes the flavor even more intense and you need much less.

This also works when freezing. However, the flavor may suffer a bit. The advantage of dehydrating is that the mushrooms are still edible even in the event of a power failure, when the freezer defrosts. They also take up less space.

What you need to do before you start drying chanterelles

Quite important and logical for those who have long been devoted to mushroom picking: The chanterelles want to be cleaned.

A little forest soil has never hurt anyone, but the coarse dirt should definitely off. Needles and soil have nothing to lose in the food.

To clean mushrooms from dirt, you should use the right tools. Especially if the chanterelles are to dry. If you're thinking of water now, let me tell you: the chanterelles will never dry out that way.

They soak up water and if you are unlucky, they start to mold while drying. The whole process takes much longer and the mushrooms may even lose flavor during a long water bath.

• Use a mushroom knife and brush, a pastry brush, or a soft shoe brush to remove dirt.
• Cut off muddy areas.
• Very large specimens you should slice or pluck pieces so that the mushrooms dry faster.

And then you just have to choose a mushroom dry method :)

This is what you need to look out for when picking mushrooms!

What is the best way to dry chanterelles?

You can dry chanterelles in the oven, in the dehydrator or in the open air. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. In the air, it usually does not work so well from autumn onwards, because the sunlight is already too weak. Then mold often forms. Oven and dehydrator are the safer method.

Whatever you decide to do: The important thing is that you let them dry until you can crumble them between your fingers.

How to dry chanterelles in the oven?

At 50° Celsius circulating air, with the door slightly open and laid out on a baking tray, the mushrooms dry very gently. Depending on the water they contain, they lose about 2/3 of their volume. So do not be surprised if there is not so much left.

In rainy weather or late in the fall, when the sun is no longer so intense, it is for the mushrooms: off to the oven!

However, this method is not very energy-saving and efficient. If you want to dry food more often, you should get yourself a Buy dehydrators*. It saves electricity, you can regulate the temperature better and set a timer.

Plus, you have the oven available for baking normally. I always leave the dehydrator running overnight. In the morning the mushrooms are ready dried.

Chanterelles dry in the sun

The cheapest and easiest way to preserve chanterelles is to air dry them. All you need is the sun and the right place.

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place the mushrooms on the baking paper. Space them out so they don't touch each other. Put a grid over them to be on the safe side. I use the grid from the oven. This way the mushrooms are safe from cats and birds.
• Place the tray in full sun and in a place that is well ventilated. A winter garden is less suitable, unless you regularly open all windows. If too little air gets to the mushrooms, they will start to mold.
• Very important: in the evening you need to bring the mushrooms into the house. The air is very humid at night and ruins the drying process.
• In the morning we go outside again with the first rays of sunshine.
• After about 3 days, you're done drying chanterelles. You'll know they're ready to be bottled when they feel firm and dry.

If you like, you can also string chanterelles on a thread. This works quite well, but I find it much more elaborate.

Mega delicious: Stuffed mushrooms with spinach and cream cheese!

How long can you store dried chanterelles?

You can store dried mushrooms for a year. It is important that they remain dry at all times. Therefore, you need an airtight container - it works best in tightly sealed screw jars. If you want to store them longer, add a little fine salt.

However, I have also used dried chanterelles that were two years old and did not notice any difference from the freshly dried ones. The storage place should be dark. A pantry or storage cabinet are optimal.

TipUse small jars. If then times a glass begins to mold, I do not have to throw away everything and the chanterelles dry was not in vain.

Very important: Always pack only completely dried mushrooms in storage jars. If they still have residual moisture, then mold can form. If mold forms on the chanterelles, you must dispose of them immediately. And all of them.

Are you unsure if the chanterelles are dry enough? Then give them an extra day in the sun or an hour in the oven to be on the safe side.

Is it allowed to warm up mushrooms?

What can you do with dried mushrooms?

Dried mushrooms are ideal in small quantities for flavoring soups, pasta dishes, sauces, casseroles and vegetables. If you want to use them in larger quantities, soak them in water overnight. They soak up the water and are almost as fresh - this is especially true for porcini and small chanterelles.

It is especially practical if you turn the chanterelles into powder with a powerful food processor or in a coffee grinder. Then you can add them to pasta, sauces, salads, soups or dumplings.

From the powder you can prepare a delicious mushroom soup in winter, which will not give a chance to cold toes and gray foggy days.

If you then mix the chanterelle powder with salt, you preserve the mushrooms particularly well. By the way, everyone is guaranteed to be happy about a homemade mushroom salt!

You can also leave the dried chanterelles whole. Then you should soak them in lukewarm water before using them. Leave them in the water for about 1-2 hours - they will soak up and you can use them like fresh mushrooms. Do not throw away the soaking water - use it for the recipe, because it is full of mushroom flavor.

Our conclusion

Drying chanterelles is quite simple and guaranteed to pay off. You will love the taste in winter and autumn and can refine a whole range of dishes with them.

If you wish, you can grind the mushrooms to a fine powder and mix with salt. Already the homemade Christmas gift is made :)

Good luck and enjoy it!

To browse further:

• Potato tower: Is it worth it? My experience report!
• Make your own wild herb salt: this is the best method!
• Make your own willow bark tincture: so simple and so effective!

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