How to dry and preserve shiitake mushrooms?

Our nature always provides us with a variety of delicious foods, especially fungi growing in the wild, which allow us to taste the delicacies of the world and also provide our bodies with a lot of nutrition. In some areas of our country, a large number of shiitake mushrooms are produced in the wild at certain times of the year. Many people like to buy fresh shiitake mushrooms locally, but if they want to preserve them for a longer time, they should be dried. How to dry mushrooms?

Shiitake mushroom, also known as fragrant mushroom, fragrant letter, fragrant mushroom, and shiitake mushroom, belongs to the genus Lentinula of the family Pleurotus ostreatus of the order Agaricales of the class Basidiomycetes.

Shiitake mushrooms are known as wild delicacies. They are rich in nutrients and delicious. Their dried products (commonly known as dried mushrooms) are divided into flower mushrooms, winter mushrooms, thick mushrooms and thin mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms are well-known edible and medicinal mushrooms. They have a strong aroma and are rich in nutrients. They contain 18 kinds of amino acids, 7 of which are essential to the human body. The ergosterol it contains can be converted into vitamin D, which can enhance the body's resistance to disease and prevent colds; adenine and choline can prevent cirrhosis of the liver and vascular sclerosis; tyrosine oxidase has the effect of lowering blood pressure; it can benefit the stomach and treat wind and blood. In particular, shiitake mushrooms contain "shiitake polysaccharides" and "ribonucleic acid" substances, which can "activate T cells, macrophages and complement systems" and "enhance the body's ability to inhibit the growth of cancer cells." Therefore, regular consumption of them in the diet can help prevent cancer.

Shiitake mushroom is one of my country's traditional export products, and its first-class product is flower mushroom.

It is a widely used processing method to make fresh mushroom bodies lose moisture and become dry products with a moisture content of about 12% to facilitate storage and transportation.

Commonly used methods include sun drying, oven drying and hot air drying. Sun-dried shiitake mushrooms are not as fragrant as oven-dried shiitake mushrooms.

Sun drying method: Sun drying is the most convenient and easy way to dry shiitake mushrooms, and the content of vitamin D in sun-dried mushrooms is higher. The method is: spread the collected mushrooms immediately on the cement drying yard or other drying platforms (more than 90% dry). When drying in the sun, first place the mushrooms with their caps facing upwards and spread them out one by one. When they are half dry, turn them with their caps facing downwards and continue drying until they are more than 90% dry. The shorter the drying time, the better the quality of dried mushrooms.

Generally, the color is poor and the water content is slightly higher.

Storage of dried shiitake mushrooms: The moisture content of dried shiitake mushrooms is below 13%. The mushroom stems will break easily when gently held by hand, making a crisp sound. But it should not be too dry, otherwise it will break easily. Dried shiitake mushrooms easily absorb moisture and regain humidity, so they should be stored in sealed jars. It is best to take them out every month and expose them to the sun once. They can be stored for more than half a year. They can also be directly refrigerated or frozen to avoid corruption or insects.

In addition to being easier to preserve, dried shiitake mushrooms have special benefits. Dried shiitake mushrooms contain more vitamin D. This is because under the sunlight, the ergosterol in shiitake mushrooms will be directly converted into vitamin D, which can supplement vitamin D for the human body after eating. However, shiitake mushrooms must be dried naturally and not artificially heated or dried, otherwise a lot of vitamin D will be lost.