In article , "K. Reece"
wrote:

I got a food dehydrator and it occured to me that I could dry
mushrooms to have on hand to go along with the dried tomatoes for
making spaghetti sauce. Are there any types of mushrooms that I
should avoid for dehydrating? Is there anything in particular I need
to do to dehydrate mushrooms? I was thinking about dehydrating
portobellos since we like them best in spaghetti sauce.

I'm sure to most of you it may seem silly to dry mushrooms when you
can just dash off to the store to get some. It's an hour's round
trip for me to go to the store though so I'd love to have some dried
mushrooms on hand.

Kathy

Funny you mention that, Kathy -- my family picked wild mushrooms for
years. Mom dried them in front of the heat vents in our house -- it's a
smell I can conjure in my brain. She'd string the big ones whole and
dry them on the string. I don't know about one type vs another -- seems
like any would work when one considers the variety available
commercially.

Silly? No sillier than a lot of stuff people here dry. :-)

I used a package of dried mushrooms from Slovakia, harvested and dried
and sent to me in 1994, in a batch of beef vegetable barley soup. I
soaked them for only a short time before adding them to the soup.
Mighty fine. And great memories of Cousia Mária, too. :-)
--
-Barb (www.jamlady.eboard.com updated 10-16-03; check the PickleHats tab, too.)

I got a food dehydrator and it occured to me that I could dry mushrooms to
have on hand to go along with the dried tomatoes for making spaghetti sauce.
Are there any types of mushrooms that I should avoid for dehydrating? Is
there anything in particular I need to do to dehydrate mushrooms? I was
thinking about dehydrating portobellos since we like them best in spaghetti
sauce.

I'm sure to most of you it may seem silly to dry mushrooms when you can just
dash off to the store to get some. It's an hour's round trip for me to go
to the store though so I'd love to have some dried mushrooms on hand.

Kathy

"Melba's Jammin'" wrote in message
...


Funny you mention that, Kathy -- my family picked wild mushrooms for
years. Mom dried them in front of the heat vents in our house -- it's a
smell I can conjure in my brain. She'd string the big ones whole and
dry them on the string. I don't know about one type vs another -- seems
like any would work when one considers the variety available
commercially.

I'll have to stick with commercially grown mushrooms since it's way too dry
here for mushrooms to grow wild. Next time I go to the store I'll see what
they have. They usually have portobellos and button mushrooms at least.
Once in awhile they'll have a few other varieties.


Silly? No sillier than a lot of stuff people here dry. :-)

I used a package of dried mushrooms from Slovakia, harvested and dried
and sent to me in 1994, in a batch of beef vegetable barley soup. I
soaked them for only a short time before adding them to the soup.
Mighty fine. And great memories of Cousia Mária, too. :-)
--
-Barb (www.jamlady.eboard.com updated 10-16-03; check the PickleHats tab,
too.)

The soup sounds good. I hadn't thought of having dried mushrooms to add to
beef vegetable soups. That's an excellent idea!

Thanks!
Kathy

"K. Reece" wrote:

I'm sure to most of you it may seem silly to dry mushrooms when you can just
dash off to the store to get some.

Not at all. Fresh and dried mushrooms are quite different. Dried
mushrooms are really really great for making mushroom broth. Pour the
soaking liquid through cheese cloth and bring to a boil. The smell will
tell you that you've got something good.

David
I first encountered dried portobellos (At least I think that's what they
were) in a tomato/mushroom/onion mix that I used as a sauce over
corn-quinoa pasta when backpacking. Excellent. Next time I made the
sauce myself, and it smelled wonderful, but I served it over a horrid
lentil pasta.

"Feuer" wrote in message ...
"K. Reece" wrote:

I'm sure to most of you it may seem silly to dry mushrooms when you can
just
dash off to the store to get some.

Not at all. Fresh and dried mushrooms are quite different. Dried
mushrooms are really really great for making mushroom broth. Pour the
soaking liquid through cheese cloth and bring to a boil. The smell will
tell you that you've got something good.

David
I first encountered dried portobellos (At least I think that's what they
were) in a tomato/mushroom/onion mix that I used as a sauce over
corn-quinoa pasta when backpacking. Excellent. Next time I made the
sauce myself, and it smelled wonderful, but I served it over a horrid
lentil pasta.

You've given me another idea for a dish to use dried mushrooms in. I make a
round steak with mushrooms and onions and so far I haven't been happy with
commercial beef broth or bouillon for the liquid. Mushroom broth would make
it really good.

I'll get some mushrooms to dry as soon as I get thru drying tomatoes.

Kathy

"K. Reece" wrote in message
...
I got a food dehydrator and it occured to me that I could dry mushrooms to
have on hand to go along with the dried tomatoes for making spaghetti
sauce.
Are there any types of mushrooms that I should avoid for dehydrating? Is
there anything in particular I need to do to dehydrate mushrooms? I was
thinking about dehydrating portobellos since we like them best in
spaghetti
sauce.

I'm sure to most of you it may seem silly to dry mushrooms when you can
just
dash off to the store to get some. It's an hour's round trip for me to go
to the store though so I'd love to have some dried mushrooms on hand.

Kathy since I am UK I don't know what kind of mushrooms you have available
but I don't see why you can't so long as they are edible in the first place

I prefer my own dried because when I reconstitute bought ones they always
feel slimey. My own dried ones never do.

Ophelia
Scotland

"K. Reece" wrote in message
...
I got a food dehydrator and it occured to me that I could dry mushrooms
to
have on hand to go along with the dried tomatoes for making spaghetti
sauce.

I'm sure to most of you it may seem silly to dry mushrooms when you can
just
dash off to the store to get some. It's an hour's round trip for me to
go
to the store though so I'd love to have some dried mushrooms on hand.

Kathy I use dried mushrooms all the time mostly for pork & sauerkraut dishes
that I make. I had a friend that went to Poland on a regular basis & he
would buy a kilo of dried mushrooms for $20-$30. In Chicago they sell for
$100-$150 a pound depending on the season. A kilo =2.2 pounds, quite a
bargain
John

"K. Reece" wrote:

I'll get some mushrooms to dry as soon as I get thru drying tomatoes.

Cool. Do try some portobellos.

David

Feuer wrote:

"K. Reece" wrote:

I'll get some mushrooms to dry as soon as I get thru drying tomatoes.

Cool. Do try some portobellos.


If you want to save $$, just buy criminis. Porta/o/bello mushrooms are
simply big criminis.

B/

"Ophelia" wrote in message
...
Kathy since I am UK I don't know what kind of mushrooms you have available
but I don't see why you can't so long as they are edible in the first
place

I prefer my own dried because when I reconstitute bought ones they always
feel slimey. My own dried ones never do.

Ophelia
Scotland



The kind of mushrooms available in my local supermarket varies from week to
week but I'll keep my eye out for the good ones.

That's really good to know.

Kathy

"bassboat" basboatjon@mwci-news wrote in message
...


Kathy I use dried mushrooms all the time mostly for pork & sauerkraut
dishes
that I make. I had a friend that went to Poland on a regular basis & he
would buy a kilo of dried mushrooms for $20-$30. In Chicago they sell for
$100-$150 a pound depending on the season. A kilo =2.2 pounds, quite a
bargain
John


That is quite a bargain!!

I'm sure I'll find tons of uses for dried mushrooms if I have them on hand.

Kathy

"K. Reece" wrote in message
...
I got a food dehydrator and it occured to me that I could dry mushrooms to
have on hand to go along with the dried tomatoes for making spaghetti
sauce.
Are there any types of mushrooms that I should avoid for dehydrating? Is
there anything in particular I need to do to dehydrate mushrooms? I was
thinking about dehydrating portobellos since we like them best in
spaghetti
sauce.

I'm sure to most of you it may seem silly to dry mushrooms when you can
just
dash off to the store to get some. It's an hour's round trip for me to go
to the store though so I'd love to have some dried mushrooms on hand.

Kathy


I dry 'shrooms all the time. There is a Monterey Mushroom plant (farm?) in
Loudon Tn that sells them for about a dollar a pound. I brought home about
ten pounds last Friday and have the dehydrator going right now.

grind them up and add them to gravey for a nice richness.

Brian Mailman wrote:

If you want to save $$, just buy criminis. Porta/o/bello mushrooms are
simply big criminis.

Portobellos are _mature_ creminis. IME they have a much stronger
flavor.

Tomorrow my mom and I are making lasagna with portobello, cremini,
button mushrooms, and baby spinach. We still haven't decided on the
rest of the recipe. Any thoughts? Should we use a tomatoey sauce or a
less-tomatoey one? Should we use the ricotta or not? Etc? Note: no
cream sauce suggestions please.

David

Feuer wrote:

Tomorrow my mom and I are making lasagna with portobello, cremini,
button mushrooms, and baby spinach. We still haven't decided on the
rest of the recipe.

Just realized this could give the impression that we're working off an
actual recipe. What I mean is, we haven't figured out for sure what
else to put in the lasagna.

David

In article , Feuer wrote:

Brian Mailman wrote:

If you want to save $$, just buy criminis. Porta/o/bello mushrooms are
simply big criminis.

Portobellos are _mature_ creminis. IME they have a much stronger
flavor.

Tomorrow my mom and I are making lasagna with portobello, cremini,
button mushrooms, and baby spinach. We still haven't decided on the
rest of the recipe. Any thoughts? Should we use a tomatoey sauce or a
less-tomatoey one? Should we use the ricotta or not? Etc? Note: no
cream sauce suggestions please.

David

This would be better addressed on rec.food.cooking. Lots of opinions
over there, :-)
--
-Barb (www.jamlady.eboard.com updated 10-16-03; check the PickleHats tab, too.)