Bubba Vic, I know you treasure the rehydrating liquid from dried
mushrooms. Is it the kind of thing to use generously or to use
sparingly? Do I want to freeze 1/4 cup portions or, say, 1 cup
portions? All I can think to do with it is to add it to the liquid or
drippings for gravy making.

I rehydrated 30g of 10-year-old mushrooms from the hills of NE Slovakia
and 100g of porcini I bought in Italy three years ago. Final product is
machanka for my Christmas meal tomorrow.

AND you can see some of my properly triangle-shape pirohy he
http://gallery.me.com/barbschaller#100359. Between my brother and I, we
have about 14-16 dozen, plus 4 dozen that Nurse Niece Sandra is
bringing. Mine were kraut, cottage cheese, prune; brother and I did 7
dozen kraut-filled on Monday, and Sandy's bringing potato-filled.

So, what do I do with the mushroom liquid?
--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
Pepparkakor particulars posted 11-29-2010;
http://web.me.com/barbschaller

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>
> Bubba Vic, I know you treasure the rehydrating liquid from dried
> mushrooms. Is it the kind of thing to use generously or to use
> sparingly? Do I want to freeze 1/4 cup portions or, say, 1 cup
> portions? All I can think to do with it is to add it to the liquid or
> drippings for gravy making.

In my experience it's pretty potent stuff, I'd suggest your freeze it in
an ice cube try.

"Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
...
> Bubba Vic, I know you treasure the rehydrating liquid from dried
> mushrooms. Is it the kind of thing to use generously or to use
> sparingly? Do I want to freeze 1/4 cup portions or, say, 1 cup
> portions? All I can think to do with it is to add it to the liquid or
> drippings for gravy making.
>
> I rehydrated 30g of 10-year-old mushrooms from the hills of NE Slovakia

I have no clue as to the mushroom liquid, but there just has to be a story
behind those 10-year-old Slovakian mushrooms. So?

Fleece

Melba's Jammin' > wrote in news:barbschaller-
:

> Bubba Vic, I know you treasure the rehydrating liquid from dried
> mushrooms. Is it the kind of thing to use generously or to use
> sparingly? Do I want to freeze 1/4 cup portions or, say, 1 cup
> portions? All I can think to do with it is to add it to the liquid or
> drippings for gravy making.
>
> I rehydrated 30g of 10-year-old mushrooms from the hills of NE Slovakia
> and 100g of porcini I bought in Italy three years ago. Final product is
> machanka for my Christmas meal tomorrow.
>
> AND you can see some of my properly triangle-shape pirohy he
> http://gallery.me.com/barbschaller#100359. Between my brother and I, we
> have about 14-16 dozen, plus 4 dozen that Nurse Niece Sandra is
> bringing. Mine were kraut, cottage cheese, prune; brother and I did 7
> dozen kraut-filled on Monday, and Sandy's bringing potato-filled.
>
> So, what do I do with the mushroom liquid?




Use as you would any other stock.



--
Peter Lucas
Hobart
Tasmania

First Law of Leftist Debate.......
The more you present a leftist with factual evidence
that is counter to his preconceived world view and the
more difficult it becomes for him to refute it without
losing face the chance of him calling you a racist, bigot,
homophobe approaches infinity.

"Pete C." > wrote in news:4d269246$0$32443
:

>
> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>>
>> Bubba Vic, I know you treasure the rehydrating liquid from dried
>> mushrooms. Is it the kind of thing to use generously or to use
>> sparingly? Do I want to freeze 1/4 cup portions or, say, 1 cup
>> portions? All I can think to do with it is to add it to the liquid or
>> drippings for gravy making.
>
> In my experience it's pretty potent stuff, I'd suggest your freeze it in
> an ice cube try.



All depends how much water was used.

If she's talking one cup *portions* there seems to quite a bit, so the
potency will be cut.



--
Peter Lucas
Hobart
Tasmania

First Law of Leftist Debate.......
The more you present a leftist with factual evidence
that is counter to his preconceived world view and the
more difficult it becomes for him to refute it without
losing face the chance of him calling you a racist, bigot,
homophobe approaches infinity.

"Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
...
> Bubba Vic, I know you treasure the rehydrating liquid from dried
> mushrooms. Is it the kind of thing to use generously or to use
> sparingly? Do I want to freeze 1/4 cup portions or, say, 1 cup
> portions? All I can think to do with it is to add it to the liquid or
> drippings for gravy making.
>
> I rehydrated 30g of 10-year-old mushrooms from the hills of NE Slovakia
> and 100g of porcini I bought in Italy three years ago. Final product is
> machanka for my Christmas meal tomorrow.
>
> AND you can see some of my properly triangle-shape pirohy he
> http://gallery.me.com/barbschaller#100359. Between my brother and I, we
> have about 14-16 dozen, plus 4 dozen that Nurse Niece Sandra is
> bringing. Mine were kraut, cottage cheese, prune; brother and I did 7
> dozen kraut-filled on Monday, and Sandy's bringing potato-filled.
>
> So, what do I do with the mushroom liquid?
> --
> Barb, Mother Superior,

I always make and save porcini stock when I hydrate dry mushrooms. After
that you pretty much have to use it when you want mushroom flavor in your
dish. I include it in turkey stuffing with mushrooms in the stuffing.
[reconstituted mushrooms plus stock], and in boeuf bourguignon, or any beef
stew which includes mushrooms. It lasts a long time frozen. If you defrost
too much, you can re-freeze without any loss of taste.

Kent

On Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:51:58 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

> So, what do I do with the mushroom liquid?

How much do you have? Reduce (boil down) the volume to a manageable
amount and use it in gravies and soups.

--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.

In article >,
"Felice" > wrote:

> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Bubba Vic, I know you treasure the rehydrating liquid from dried
> > mushrooms. Is it the kind of thing to use generously or to use
> > sparingly? Do I want to freeze 1/4 cup portions or, say, 1 cup
> > portions? All I can think to do with it is to add it to the liquid or
> > drippings for gravy making.
> >
> > I rehydrated 30g of 10-year-old mushrooms from the hills of NE Slovakia
>
> I have no clue as to the mushroom liquid, but there just has to be a story
> behind those 10-year-old Slovakian mushrooms. So?
>
> Fleece

Oh, Fleece. . . . :-) When my cousins visited here 10 years ago,
Cousin Michal brought dried mushrooms for us that he had picked and
dried for us. It was an act of love from my cousin. He knew where to
look, walked the hills and the woods to collect them, cleaned them, and
dried them on a rack over a wood-fueled stovetop to bring to us. I
think I calculated that he had gathered somewhere in the neighborhood of
60-70 pounds of fresh that shriveled to a gallon and a half. More
precious than gold, I was asked to apportion them for my sibs. I put up
30g packages (about 1 cup) and spread them around. They keep forever.
Tomorrow is Christmas Day for many Orthodox Christians and among "our
people" (ethnic group), an important dish at table is wild mushrooms
flavored with sauerkraut juice. I haven't made it in several years but
still have a couple packages of Michael's mushrooms to work with,
supplemented with the porcini from Italy and boring white buttons from
my food co-op. One of my sisters occasionally asks if I have "any
extra." Well, no, I don't. The fact that I rarely use them does not
put these into the lot of "extra." Shoot me.

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
Pepparkakor particulars posted 11-29-2010;
http://web.me.com/barbschaller

In article .com>,
"Pete C." > wrote:

> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> > sparingly? Do I want to freeze 1/4 cup portions or, say, 1 cup
> > portions? All I can think to do with it is to add it to the liquid or
> > drippings for gravy making.
>
> In my experience it's pretty potent stuff, I'd suggest your freeze it in
> an ice cube try.

Thank you, Pete. I wasn't sure if that amount (2 tablespoons) was
appropriate for typical use.

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
Pepparkakor particulars posted 11-29-2010;
http://web.me.com/barbschaller

"Melba's Jammin'" > ha scritto nel messaggio
> Bubba Vic, I know you treasure the rehydrating liquid from dried
> mushrooms. Is it the kind of thing to use generously or to use
> sparingly?

Don't know about Victor, but I use it generously in broths, braises, soups,
etc. It's rare that I don't use it in the dish that's getting the
mushrooms, though. This is clever thinking. You may want to use it the way
I use pulverized mushrooms, added to various things to add depth of flavor.
That might be a stuffing forcemeat or the tomato braising for polenta and
certainly when making sausage and mushroom cream sauce for pasta. (alla
Norciera)

I collect and dry mushrooms myself (from Wisconsin, though.) I often skip rehydrating the mushrooms and pulverize the little honeys and add those to sauces and gravies. If you replace a bit of flour in your roux with mushroom powder you get some great bennies.

If you do rehydrate, though, you may want to freez 1-2 cup bags AFTER you've poured off the liquid and spared some of the sediment at the bottom of a large measuring cup. I always toss the remians into my yard. I don't know if it's the dry, fresh or both, but I get nice harvests right out of my yard most years. just ebcasue I throw the sediment from rehydrating and wash fresh ones over a pot and toss the washin'water.

Giusi hit the uses right on the nuts, though. You hold a splendored thing in your hands. Enjoy!!

"Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Felice" > wrote:
>
>> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > Bubba Vic, I know you treasure the rehydrating liquid from dried
>> > mushrooms. Is it the kind of thing to use generously or to use
>> > sparingly? Do I want to freeze 1/4 cup portions or, say, 1 cup
>> > portions? All I can think to do with it is to add it to the liquid or
>> > drippings for gravy making.
>> >
>> > I rehydrated 30g of 10-year-old mushrooms from the hills of NE Slovakia
>>
>> I have no clue as to the mushroom liquid, but there just has to be a
>> story
>> behind those 10-year-old Slovakian mushrooms. So?
>>
>> Fleece
>
> Oh, Fleece. . . . :-) When my cousins visited here 10 years ago,
> Cousin Michal brought dried mushrooms for us that he had picked and
> dried for us. It was an act of love from my cousin. He knew where to
> look, walked the hills and the woods to collect them, cleaned them, and
> dried them on a rack over a wood-fueled stovetop to bring to us. I
> think I calculated that he had gathered somewhere in the neighborhood of
> 60-70 pounds of fresh that shriveled to a gallon and a half. More
> precious than gold, I was asked to apportion them for my sibs. I put up
> 30g packages (about 1 cup) and spread them around. They keep forever.
> Tomorrow is Christmas Day for many Orthodox Christians and among "our
> people" (ethnic group), an important dish at table is wild mushrooms
> flavored with sauerkraut juice. I haven't made it in several years but
> still have a couple packages of Michael's mushrooms to work with,
> supplemented with the porcini from Italy and boring white buttons from
> my food co-op. One of my sisters occasionally asks if I have "any
> extra." Well, no, I don't. The fact that I rarely use them does not
> put these into the lot of "extra." Shoot me.

Why, Barb, you have heirloom mushrooms! How splendid!

Fleece

"Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
...
> Bubba Vic, I know you treasure the rehydrating liquid from dried
> mushrooms. Is it the kind of thing to use generously or to use
> sparingly? Do I want to freeze 1/4 cup portions or, say, 1 cup
> portions? All I can think to do with it is to add it to the liquid or
> drippings for gravy making.
>
> I rehydrated 30g of 10-year-old mushrooms from the hills of NE Slovakia
> and 100g of porcini I bought in Italy three years ago. Final product is
> machanka for my Christmas meal tomorrow.
>
> AND you can see some of my properly triangle-shape pirohy he
> http://gallery.me.com/barbschaller#100359. Between my brother and I, we
> have about 14-16 dozen, plus 4 dozen that Nurse Niece Sandra is
> bringing. Mine were kraut, cottage cheese, prune; brother and I did 7
> dozen kraut-filled on Monday, and Sandy's bringing potato-filled.
>
> So, what do I do with the mushroom liquid?
> --
> Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
> Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
> "Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
> Pepparkakor particulars posted 11-29-2010;
> http://web.me.com/barbschaller

What is your favorite place to buy dried mushrooms at a good price and of
good quality? I buy A grade dried porcinis from a deli in San Francisco for
about $35/lb, a very good price. Where do you get your dried morel mushrooms
by mail order? Are any buying other types of mushrooms?
Thanks for any info,

Kent

Melba's Jammin' > wrote:

> Bubba Vic, I know you treasure the rehydrating liquid from dried
> mushrooms. Is it the kind of thing to use generously or to use
> sparingly? Do I want to freeze 1/4 cup portions or, say, 1 cup
> portions? All I can think to do with it is to add it to the liquid or
> drippings for gravy making.

Very little water is needed to rehydrate dried mushrooms. Using a lot
of water makes little sense. I use the resulting liquid in the dish in
which the mushrooms are used. The mushrooms themselves will inevitably
have more intensive taste than their rehydrating liquid, no matter how
concentrated.

Recently, I cooked sauerkraut schi, the most Russian soup of them all.
Regardless, I'd guess that 99% of modern Russians have never tasted real
schi. First, I prepared sauerkraut. I put it in a pot with some minced
onions, a few slices of parsley root and a couple of pats of clarified
butter. I put the pot in the very slow oven (ca. 110°C/225°F) for about
4 hours, imitating the conditions of the Russian oven. Occasionally, I
checked if the sauerkraut was getting burned or just too dry, in which
case I added a couple of spoons of sauerkraut juice, stirring the
sauerkraut. Once the kraut was ready, I put the pot outside, to freeze
the kraut (the temperatures were below freezing until today) overnight.
This is important, as it changes the taste of sauerkraut quite a bit.
The next day, I cooked the broth with a piece of beef shank, a couple of
pieces of brisket (about 1 kg/2.2 pounds of meat total), onions, parsley
root, celery root, and carrot for about 3 hours, strained it, cut the
meat in pieces and combined it with the thawed sauerkraut, the meat cut
in pieces, a handful of rehydrated porcini together with their soaking
liquid, and continued to cook over low heat for about 40 minutes.
Served it with dill, minced garlic and sour cream. This kind of soup
can be - and in fact used to be - eaten every day, sometimes more than
once a day. I have here a September food schedule of Novospassky
Monastery from the year 1648. Schi of some kind were served at least
once, often twice, every single day.

Victor

Victor Sack wrote:
> Melba's Jammin' > wrote:
>
>> Bubba Vic, I know you treasure the rehydrating liquid from dried
>> mushrooms. Is it the kind of thing to use generously or to use
>> sparingly? Do I want to freeze 1/4 cup portions or, say, 1 cup
>> portions? All I can think to do with it is to add it to the liquid or
>> drippings for gravy making.
>
> Very little water is needed to rehydrate dried mushrooms. Using a lot
> of water makes little sense. I use the resulting liquid in the dish in
> which the mushrooms are used. The mushrooms themselves will inevitably
> have more intensive taste than their rehydrating liquid, no matter how
> concentrated.
>
> Recently, I cooked sauerkraut schi, the most Russian soup of them all.
> Regardless, I'd guess that 99% of modern Russians have never tasted real
> schi. First, I prepared sauerkraut. I put it in a pot with some minced
> onions, a few slices of parsley root and a couple of pats of clarified
> butter. I put the pot in the very slow oven (ca. 110°C/225°F) for about
> 4 hours, imitating the conditions of the Russian oven. Occasionally, I
> checked if the sauerkraut was getting burned or just too dry, in which
> case I added a couple of spoons of sauerkraut juice, stirring the
> sauerkraut. Once the kraut was ready, I put the pot outside, to freeze
> the kraut (the temperatures were below freezing until today) overnight.
> This is important, as it changes the taste of sauerkraut quite a bit.
> The next day, I cooked the broth with a piece of beef shank, a couple of
> pieces of brisket (about 1 kg/2.2 pounds of meat total), onions, parsley
> root, celery root, and carrot for about 3 hours, strained it, cut the
> meat in pieces and combined it with the thawed sauerkraut, the meat cut
> in pieces, a handful of rehydrated porcini together with their soaking
> liquid, and continued to cook over low heat for about 40 minutes.
> Served it with dill, minced garlic and sour cream. This kind of soup
> can be - and in fact used to be - eaten every day, sometimes more than
> once a day. I have here a September food schedule of Novospassky
> Monastery from the year 1648. Schi of some kind were served at least
> once, often twice, every single day.
>
> Victor

Very nice recipe, and I am (of course) most envious about that
food schedule. Neat!

--
Jean B.

Ooo! Thanks for this recipe. I still know some Polish folks who make stuff like this. My personal favorite is a creamy soup made of boletes (may favorite mushroom). Can't remember the name, though.

Just to touch on the water to mushroom ratio. The general rule in mushroom dehydration (in terms of mass) is 10:1. I suppose, in a perfect universe, one would measure the mass of the dried mushrooms and use ten times that in water mass. We all know, though, that all that water may not be absorbed. Who cares, though? Save the water for cooking and resulting sediment, and toss it in the yard. Spores are very resilient, unbeknownst to Sheldon, and 3,000 year-old , viable spores have been found in sealed vaults in the great pyramids. Let 'em do their thing. If higher heat was used to dehydrate the mushrooms, most of the spores may be knocked off. But I'd bet some survival-of-the-fittest could go on. I'll bet the nice folks of Slovakia stick to older tried-and-true methods of air drying them and that these spores might find a happy place in your yard. If the Slovak mushrooms happen to be (king or edulis) boletes, then they can handle pine needles to oak leaves as substrate, and they are just awesome in size and flavor. If you'll look at the underside of the cap, there will be pinholes instead of gills if they are boletes.

Polish people, where I grew up, collected several species of mushrooms that are inedible without preparation (lactarius, clitocybe and leucopaxillus) and they prepared them in a manner similar to sauerkraut. The resulting flavor, though, is a more acrid, peppery, flavor. Also, with acrid mushrooms, they would dry them and use the pulverized dried mushrooms as a condiment like black pepper. I have done this and found the lactarius on my neighbor's land perfect for this use. I've tried it with success with clitocybes years ago, but haven't found them in abundance since I moved to where I currently reside. It's a different kind of pepper and the best thing to put on a pizza, IMO.

I guess my only food goal in this new year is to try this recipe, Victor. Thank you.

In article >,
Gorio > wrote:


> Just to touch on the water to mushroom ratio. The general rule in
> mushroom dehydration (in terms of mass) is 10:1. I suppose, in a perfect
> universe, one would measure the mass of the dried mushrooms and use ten
> times that in water mass. We all know, though, that all that water may
> not be absorbed. Who cares, though? Save the water for cooking and
> resulting sediment, and toss it in the yard. Spores are very resilient,
> unbeknownst to Sheldon, and 3,000 year-old , viable spores have been
> found in sealed vaults in the great pyramids. Let 'em do their thing. If
> higher heat was used to dehydrate the mushrooms, most of the spores may
> be knocked off. But I'd bet some survival-of-the-fittest could go on.
> I'll bet the nice folks of Slovakia stick to older tried-and-true
> methods of air drying them and that these spores might find a happy
> place in your yard. If the Slovak mushrooms happen to be (king or
> edulis) boletes, then they can handle pine needles to oak leaves as
> substrate, and they are just awesome in size and flavor. If you'll look
> at the underside of the cap, there will be pinholes instead of gills if
> they are boletes.

Interesting info about rehydrating. I probably used 1 cup water to 1
cup dried mushrooms. Regrettably, I chucked the sediment ‹ wrong time
of year here for tossing in the yard, anyway. One of the kinds my
cousins pick us referred to as sosnak (spelling is way off, I am quite
sure ‹ they pronounce it SOS-nyak) ‹ "the kind that grows under pine
trees." :-) The ones I picked as a child were found in cow pastures
with dead oak trees around. Mom dried the ones with big heads ‹ they
had gills. There was also a kind she referred to as "spongy ones." :-)
Alex rest her weary soul.

I have a photo of Cousin Maria's mushroom dehydrator, but not in a
digital format: a metal rack the size of her wood stovetop, propped on
four wood sticks at the corners, about 6-8" above the surface of the
stovetop. :-)

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
Pepparkakor particulars posted 11-29-2010;
http://web.me.com/barbschaller

In article >,
"Kent" > wrote:

> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
> ...
> What is your favorite place to buy dried mushrooms at a good price and of
> good quality? I buy A grade dried porcinis from a deli in San Francisco for
> about $35/lb, a very good price. Where do you get your dried morel mushrooms
> by mail order? Are any buying other types of mushrooms?
> Thanks for any info,
>
> Kent

My food co-op sells dried mushrooms and I can also buy them in my local
supermarket in small amounts. I don't use them very often (it just
doesn't occur to me ‹ childhood habit, we used the dried ones only for
machanka at Christmas). Whatever the price I paid for the Italian
porcini three years ago seemed like a bargain so I bought a couple 100g
packages. I still have one bag ‹ and I still have a couple small
packets from Cousin Michal. :-) The porcinis, btw, are beautiful.

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
Pepparkakor particulars posted 11-29-2010;
http://web.me.com/barbschaller

In article >,
Gorio > wrote:

> If you do rehydrate, though, you may want to freez 1-2 cup bags AFTER
> you've poured off the liquid and spared some of the sediment at the
> bottom of a large measuring cup. I always toss the remians into my yard.
> I don't know if it's the dry, fresh or both, but I get nice harvests
> right out of my yard most years. just ebcasue I throw the sediment from
> rehydrating and wash fresh ones over a pot and toss the washin'water.

Damn, I wish I'd known that! Maybe I'll do that with some next spring
or so.

My machanka is very tasty. I wound up using a bit of citric acid to
sour it up, because to get the same result using only kraut juice would
have made it too wet.

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
Pepparkakor particulars posted 11-29-2010;
http://web.me.com/barbschaller

In article >,
"Kent" > wrote:
> I always make and save porcini stock when I hydrate dry mushrooms. After
> that you pretty much have to use it when you want mushroom flavor in your
> dish. I include it in turkey stuffing with mushrooms in the stuffing.
> [reconstituted mushrooms plus stock], and in boeuf bourguignon, or any beef
> stew which includes mushrooms. It lasts a long time frozen. If you defrost
> too much, you can re-freeze without any loss of taste.
>
> Kent

Good to know about re-freezing, thanks.

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
Pepparkakor particulars posted 11-29-2010;
http://web.me.com/barbschaller

In article >,
"Felice" > wrote:

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

> > Tomorrow is Christmas Day for many Orthodox Christians and among "our
> > people" (ethnic group), an important dish at table is wild mushrooms
> > flavored with sauerkraut juice. I haven't made it in several years but
> > still have a couple packages of Michael's mushrooms to work with,
> > supplemented with the porcini from Italy and boring white buttons from
> > my food co-op. One of my sisters occasionally asks if I have "any
> > extra." Well, no, I don't. The fact that I rarely use them does not
> > put these into the lot of "extra." Shoot me.
>
> Why, Barb, you have heirloom mushrooms! How splendid!
>
> Fleece

<g> Like a fine wine, they improved with age, too. That's my story and
I'm stickin' to it! My machanka was a superior batch, too. Only a pint
left.

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
Pepparkakor particulars posted 11-29-2010;
http://web.me.com/barbschaller

Jean B. > wrote:

> Victor Sack wrote:
> > I have here a September food schedule of Novospassky
> > Monastery from the year 1648. Schi of some kind were served at least
> > once, often twice, every single day.
>
> Very nice recipe, and I am (of course) most envious about that
> food schedule. Neat!

It is not any kind of original, not even a reproduction, just a listing
in a book. By the way, though *from* the year 1648 (just five years
before Raskol, the great schism of the Russian Orthodoxy), it is not for
September 1648, but for *any* September and that is why there are lenten
and non-lenten alternatives every day. No meat is mentioned, however,
at least not explicitly, but a lot of fish, much of it various kinds of
sturgeon. Still, the general impression is that of monotony.

Victor

Gorio > wrote:

> 'Victor Sack[_1_ Wrote:
> >
> > Recently, I cooked sauerkraut schi, the most Russian soup of them all.
>
> Ooo! Thanks for this recipe. I still know some Polish folks who make
> stuff like this.

You may be thinking of bigos. It is a different thing.

>My personal favorite is a creamy soup made of boletes
> (may favorite mushroom). Can't remember the name, though.

Maybe krupnik if it is a Polish soup.

Victor

Melba's wrote on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:29:36 -0600:

>> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in
>> message ...
>> What is your favorite place to buy dried mushrooms
>> at a good price and of good quality? I buy A grade dried
>> porcinis from a deli in San Francisco for about $35/lb, a
>> very good price. Where do you get your dried morel mushrooms
>> by mail order? Are any buying other types of mushrooms?
>> Thanks for any info,
>>
>> Kent

> My food co-op sells dried mushrooms and I can also buy them in
> my local supermarket in small amounts. I don't use them very
> often (it just doesn't occur to me ‹ childhood habit, we used
> the dried ones only for machanka at Christmas). Whatever the
> price I paid for the Italian porcini three years ago seemed
> like a bargain so I bought a couple 100g packages. I still
> have one bag ‹ and I still have a couple small packets from
> Cousin Michal. :-) The porcinis, btw, are beautiful.

I'd advise a Chinese super-market if one is convenient.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"Melba's Jammin'" > ha scritto nel messaggio

> My food co-op sells dried mushrooms and I can also buy them in my local
> supermarket in small amounts. I don't use them very often (it just
> doesn't occur to me < childhood habit, we used the dried ones only for
> machanka at Christmas). Whatever the price I paid for the Italian
> porcini three years ago seemed like a bargain so I bought a couple 100g
> packages. I still have one bag < and I still have a couple small
> packets from Cousin Michal. :-) The porcinis, btw, are beautiful.

You can make a whole lot of ordinary mushrooms taste like porcini if you
soak and add them to the sauteing mushrooms. Add the strained juices and
braise. I have made cream of mushroom soup, various stews, braises, sauces
with this cheat.

Thanks for helping me, guys. I know it starts with a "B". Barovishkova? or somehting thereabouts. Now I'm feeling like a grubtak (dumb ass). The stuff is just rich in cream and mushroom flavor. A bowl of this stuff with a side of potato sausage, and I'm set.

Melba! Before you toss your spores, make sure you can trust your yard. mushrooms tend to imbibe toxins much more effeciently than garden plants. Just a heads up. Just start with whatever fresh ones you buy. Wash over pot and toss it. If you look up the kind you have and research the substrate a bit, you should have success.

I'd be glad to help if you ever have any issues. Maybe the queen of jam will also grow some delish fungi. Happy day in Chi-town!!

WhatWhat? You don't buy the Campbell's stuff? I hear ya, Giusi. You can make the real deal with little effort and it turns out so much better than any can can can-can. I'll bet you get some tastees where you live.

"Giusi" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Melba's Jammin'" > ha scritto nel messaggio
>
>> My food co-op sells dried mushrooms and I can also buy them in my local
>> supermarket in small amounts. I don't use them very often (it just
>> doesn't occur to me < childhood habit, we used the dried ones only for
>> machanka at Christmas). Whatever the price I paid for the Italian
>> porcini three years ago seemed like a bargain so I bought a couple 100g
>> packages. I still have one bag < and I still have a couple small
>> packets from Cousin Michal. :-) The porcinis, btw, are beautiful.
>
> You can make a whole lot of ordinary mushrooms taste like porcini if you
> soak and add them to the sauteing mushrooms. Add the strained juices and
> braise. I have made cream of mushroom soup, various stews, braises,
> sauces with this cheat.
>
No, no, no..............
You can't begin to replicate cepe or porcini mushroom taste with "ordinary
mushrooms"

"Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Kent" > wrote:
>
>> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> What is your favorite place to buy dried mushrooms at a good price and of
>> good quality? I buy A grade dried porcinis from a deli in San Francisco
>> for
>> about $35/lb, a very good price. Where do you get your dried morel
>> mushrooms
>> by mail order? Are any buying other types of mushrooms?
>> Thanks for any info,
>>
>> Kent
>
> My food co-op sells dried mushrooms and I can also buy them in my local
> supermarket in small amounts. I don't use them very often (it just
> doesn't occur to me < childhood habit, we used the dried ones only for
> machanka at Christmas). Whatever the price I paid for the Italian
> porcini three years ago seemed like a bargain so I bought a couple 100g
> packages. I still have one bag < and I still have a couple small
> packets from Cousin Michal. :-) The porcinis, btw, are beautiful.
>
> --
> Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
> Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
> "Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
> Pepparkakor particulars posted 11-29-2010;
> http://web.me.com/barbschaller
>
>
Various markets in our area do have them at ludicriously high prices. If you
do the math it can easily hit $200/lb at our local Safe-steal-Way.

Plain yellow onions at the Safeway were $1.69/lb yesterday. At our local
produce market they were the usual $.39/lb


Kent

Kent > wrote:

>"Giusi" > wrote in message

>> You can make a whole lot of ordinary mushrooms taste like porcini if you
>> soak and add them to the sauteing mushrooms. Add the strained juices and
>> braise. I have made cream of mushroom soup, various stews, braises,
>> sauces with this cheat.

>No, no, no..............
>You can't begin to replicate cepe or porcini mushroom taste with "ordinary
>mushrooms"

I believe Giusi is suggesting combining "ordinary" (e.g. Crimini) mushrooms
with dried/reconstituted porcini mushrooms. The result is good.
It's not the same, but in some ways it can be more potent-tasting
(as well as less costly) than the equivalent volume of fresh porcinis.

It's a pretty common restaurant trick around here.

Steve

"James Silverton" > wrote in message
...
> Melba's wrote on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:29:36 -0600:
>
>>> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in
>>> message ... What
>>> is your favorite place to buy dried mushrooms
>>> at a good price and of good quality? I buy A grade dried
>>> porcinis from a deli in San Francisco for about $35/lb, a
>>> very good price. Where do you get your dried morel mushrooms
>>> by mail order? Are any buying other types of mushrooms?
>>> Thanks for any info,
>>>
>>> Kent
>
>> My food co-op sells dried mushrooms and I can also buy them in
>> my local supermarket in small amounts. I don't use them very
>> often (it just doesn't occur to me < childhood habit, we used
>> the dried ones only for machanka at Christmas). Whatever the
>> price I paid for the Italian porcini three years ago seemed
>> like a bargain so I bought a couple 100g packages. I still
>> have one bag < and I still have a couple small packets from
>> Cousin Michal. :-) The porcinis, btw, are beautiful.
>
> I'd advise a Chinese super-market if one is convenient.
>
> James Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland
>
>
You really can't get the porcinis very often in a Chinese market. I may have
found them once in years.

Kent

"Steve Pope" > wrote in message
...
> Kent > wrote:
>
>>"Giusi" > wrote in message
>
>>> You can make a whole lot of ordinary mushrooms taste like porcini if you
>>> soak and add them to the sauteing mushrooms. Add the strained juices
>>> and
>>> braise. I have made cream of mushroom soup, various stews, braises,
>>> sauces with this cheat.
>
>>No, no, no..............
>>You can't begin to replicate cepe or porcini mushroom taste with "ordinary
>>mushrooms"
>
> I believe Giusi is suggesting combining "ordinary" (e.g. Crimini)
> mushrooms
> with dried/reconstituted porcini mushrooms. The result is good.
> It's not the same, but in some ways it can be more potent-tasting
> (as well as less costly) than the equivalent volume of fresh porcinis.
>
> It's a pretty common restaurant trick around here.
>
> Steve
>
>
As I reread Giusi's note I'm sure that's the case. I've done it myself, when
there is nothing but little granules of the dry mushroom left.

OB food tonight: roast turkey[non brined Butterball] with stuffing of
porcini mushrooms and turkey liver. Homemade turkey stock for the sauce.

Kent

On Jan 9, 2:07*pm, "Kent" > wrote:
> "James Silverton" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
> > Melba's *wrote *on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:29:36 -0600:
>
> >>> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in
> >>> ... What
> >>> is your favorite place to buy dried mushrooms
> >>> at a good price and of good quality? *I buy A grade dried
> >>> porcinis from a deli in San Francisco for about $35/lb, a
> >>> very good price. Where do you get your dried morel mushrooms
> >>> by mail order? Are any buying other types of mushrooms?
> >>> Thanks for any info,
>
> >>> Kent
>
> >> My food co-op sells dried mushrooms and I can also buy them in
> >> my local supermarket in small amounts. *I don't use them very
> >> often (it just doesn't occur to me < childhood habit, we used
> >> the dried ones only for machanka at Christmas). *Whatever the
> >> price I paid for the Italian porcini three years ago seemed
> >> like a bargain so I bought a couple 100g packages. *I still
> >> have one bag < and I still have a couple small packets from
> >> Cousin Michal. *:-) * The porcinis, btw, are beautiful.
>
> > I'd advise a Chinese super-market if one is convenient.
>
> > James Silverton
> > Potomac, Maryland
>
> You really can't get the porcinis very often in a Chinese market. I may have
> found them once in years.
>
> Kent

If you have a Cash & Carry in your area you can buy a large plastic
jar of dried mushrooms that have a mixture of several kinds of
mushrooms. The are not hugely expensive and really handy to keep on
hand.

On Sun, 9 Jan 2011 14:07:27 -0800, "Kent" > wrote:

>
>"James Silverton" > wrote in message
...
>> Melba's wrote on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:29:36 -0600:
>>
>>>> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in
>>>> message ... What
>>>> is your favorite place to buy dried mushrooms
>>>> at a good price and of good quality? I buy A grade dried
>>>> porcinis from a deli in San Francisco for about $35/lb, a
>>>> very good price. Where do you get your dried morel mushrooms
>>>> by mail order? Are any buying other types of mushrooms?
>>>> Thanks for any info,
>>>>
>>>> Kent
>>
>>> My food co-op sells dried mushrooms and I can also buy them in
>>> my local supermarket in small amounts. I don't use them very
>>> often (it just doesn't occur to me < childhood habit, we used
>>> the dried ones only for machanka at Christmas). Whatever the
>>> price I paid for the Italian porcini three years ago seemed
>>> like a bargain so I bought a couple 100g packages. I still
>>> have one bag < and I still have a couple small packets from
>>> Cousin Michal. :-) The porcinis, btw, are beautiful.
>>
>> I'd advise a Chinese super-market if one is convenient.
>>
>> James Silverton
>> Potomac, Maryland
>>
>>
>You really can't get the porcinis very often in a Chinese market. I may have
>found them once in years.

You haven't really looked. There are myriad sites on line where one
can buy dried 'shrooms.
http://www.fungusamongus.com/index.php?cPath=5

"Brooklyn1" <Gravesend1> wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 9 Jan 2011 14:07:27 -0800, "Kent" > wrote:
>
>>
>>"James Silverton" > wrote in message
...
>>> Melba's wrote on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:29:36 -0600:
>>>
>>>>> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in
>>>>> message ...
>>>>> What
>>>>> is your favorite place to buy dried mushrooms
>>>>> at a good price and of good quality? I buy A grade dried
>>>>> porcinis from a deli in San Francisco for about $35/lb, a
>>>>> very good price. Where do you get your dried morel mushrooms
>>>>> by mail order? Are any buying other types of mushrooms?
>>>>> Thanks for any info,
>>>>>
>>>>> Kent
>>>
>>>> My food co-op sells dried mushrooms and I can also buy them in
>>>> my local supermarket in small amounts. I don't use them very
>>>> often (it just doesn't occur to me < childhood habit, we used
>>>> the dried ones only for machanka at Christmas). Whatever the
>>>> price I paid for the Italian porcini three years ago seemed
>>>> like a bargain so I bought a couple 100g packages. I still
>>>> have one bag < and I still have a couple small packets from
>>>> Cousin Michal. :-) The porcinis, btw, are beautiful.
>>>
>>> I'd advise a Chinese super-market if one is convenient.
>>>
>>> James Silverton
>>> Potomac, Maryland
>>>
>>>
>>You really can't get the porcinis very often in a Chinese market. I may
>>have
>>found them once in years.
>
> You haven't really looked. There are myriad sites on line where one
> can buy dried 'shrooms.
> http://www.fungusamongus.com/index.php?cPath=5
>
>
Yes there are online vendors, as you point out. With dried porcinis from
Italy you like to know the vendor. That's why I asked. They're graded in
some fashion by the Italian government. Are you really getting grade AA? It
looks like they're less expensive than they have been in the past. $50/lb
for AA grade is a good price. .
http://www.amazon.com/Porcini-Mushro...4610466&sr=1-3

Have any dealt with JR Mushrooms & Specialties?

Morels have become very expensive.

Kent

"ImStillMags" > wrote in message
...
On Jan 9, 2:07 pm, "Kent" > wrote:
> "James Silverton" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
> > Melba's wrote on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:29:36 -0600:
>
> >>> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in
> >>> ...
> >>> What
> >>> is your favorite place to buy dried mushrooms
> >>> at a good price and of good quality? I buy A grade dried
> >>> porcinis from a deli in San Francisco for about $35/lb, a
> >>> very good price. Where do you get your dried morel mushrooms
> >>> by mail order? Are any buying other types of mushrooms?
> >>> Thanks for any info,
>
> >>> Kent
>
> >> My food co-op sells dried mushrooms and I can also buy them in
> >> my local supermarket in small amounts. I don't use them very
> >> often (it just doesn't occur to me < childhood habit, we used
> >> the dried ones only for machanka at Christmas). Whatever the
> >> price I paid for the Italian porcini three years ago seemed
> >> like a bargain so I bought a couple 100g packages. I still
> >> have one bag < and I still have a couple small packets from
> >> Cousin Michal. :-) The porcinis, btw, are beautiful.
>
> > I'd advise a Chinese super-market if one is convenient.
>
> > James Silverton
> > Potomac, Maryland
>
> You really can't get the porcinis very often in a Chinese market. I may
> have
> found them once in years.
>
> Kent

If you have a Cash & Carry in your area you can buy a large plastic
jar of dried mushrooms that have a mixture of several kinds of
mushrooms. The are not hugely expensive and really handy to keep on
hand.
---

Costco also has a very good price but it's a huge jug. I was never able to
use them before they expired. They are also very good! You get a nice mix
and they for the most part are not shriveled. Nice big slices.

"Julie Bove" > wrote in message
...
>
> "ImStillMags" > wrote in message
> ...
> On Jan 9, 2:07 pm, "Kent" > wrote:
>> "James Silverton" > wrote in message
>>
>> ...
>>
>> > Melba's wrote on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:29:36 -0600:
>>
>> >>> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in
>> >>> ...
>> >>> What
>> >>> is your favorite place to buy dried mushrooms
>> >>> at a good price and of good quality? I buy A grade dried
>> >>> porcinis from a deli in San Francisco for about $35/lb, a
>> >>> very good price. Where do you get your dried morel mushrooms
>> >>> by mail order? Are any buying other types of mushrooms?
>> >>> Thanks for any info,
>>
>> >>> Kent
>>
>> >> My food co-op sells dried mushrooms and I can also buy them in
>> >> my local supermarket in small amounts. I don't use them very
>> >> often (it just doesn't occur to me < childhood habit, we used
>> >> the dried ones only for machanka at Christmas). Whatever the
>> >> price I paid for the Italian porcini three years ago seemed
>> >> like a bargain so I bought a couple 100g packages. I still
>> >> have one bag < and I still have a couple small packets from
>> >> Cousin Michal. :-) The porcinis, btw, are beautiful.
>>
>> > I'd advise a Chinese super-market if one is convenient.
>>
>> > James Silverton
>> > Potomac, Maryland
>>
>> You really can't get the porcinis very often in a Chinese market. I may
>> have
>> found them once in years.
>>
>> Kent
>
> If you have a Cash & Carry in your area you can buy a large plastic
> jar of dried mushrooms that have a mixture of several kinds of
> mushrooms. The are not hugely expensive and really handy to keep on
> hand.
> ---
>
> Costco also has a very good price but it's a huge jug. I was never able
> to use them before they expired. They are also very good! You get a nice
> mix and they for the most part are not shriveled. Nice big slices.
>
>
I put dried mushrooms mainly porcinis and morels into a ziplock bag, get as
much air out as I can, and freeze what I'm not going to use. Dried mushrooms
freeze very well for a long time, years, not months! They reconstitute just
fine.

Kent

"Kent" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Julie Bove" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "ImStillMags" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> On Jan 9, 2:07 pm, "Kent" > wrote:
>>> "James Silverton" > wrote in message
>>>
>>> ...
>>>
>>> > Melba's wrote on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:29:36 -0600:
>>>
>>> >>> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in
>>> >>> ...
>>> >>> What
>>> >>> is your favorite place to buy dried mushrooms
>>> >>> at a good price and of good quality? I buy A grade dried
>>> >>> porcinis from a deli in San Francisco for about $35/lb, a
>>> >>> very good price. Where do you get your dried morel mushrooms
>>> >>> by mail order? Are any buying other types of mushrooms?
>>> >>> Thanks for any info,
>>>
>>> >>> Kent
>>>
>>> >> My food co-op sells dried mushrooms and I can also buy them in
>>> >> my local supermarket in small amounts. I don't use them very
>>> >> often (it just doesn't occur to me < childhood habit, we used
>>> >> the dried ones only for machanka at Christmas). Whatever the
>>> >> price I paid for the Italian porcini three years ago seemed
>>> >> like a bargain so I bought a couple 100g packages. I still
>>> >> have one bag < and I still have a couple small packets from
>>> >> Cousin Michal. :-) The porcinis, btw, are beautiful.
>>>
>>> > I'd advise a Chinese super-market if one is convenient.
>>>
>>> > James Silverton
>>> > Potomac, Maryland
>>>
>>> You really can't get the porcinis very often in a Chinese market. I may
>>> have
>>> found them once in years.
>>>
>>> Kent
>>
>> If you have a Cash & Carry in your area you can buy a large plastic
>> jar of dried mushrooms that have a mixture of several kinds of
>> mushrooms. The are not hugely expensive and really handy to keep on
>> hand.
>> ---
>>
>> Costco also has a very good price but it's a huge jug. I was never able
>> to use them before they expired. They are also very good! You get a
>> nice mix and they for the most part are not shriveled. Nice big slices.
>>
>>
> I put dried mushrooms mainly porcinis and morels into a ziplock bag, get
> as much air out as I can, and freeze what I'm not going to use. Dried
> mushrooms freeze very well for a long time, years, not months! They
> reconstitute just fine.

Thanks! I just thought about that after I posted that, actually. I have
also made my own. I have a dehydrator. Doesn't seem to save me any money
though.

In article >,
(Victor Sack) wrote:

> Melba's Jammin' > wrote:
>
> > Bubba Vic, I know you treasure the rehydrating liquid from dried
> > mushrooms. Is it the kind of thing to use generously or to use
> > sparingly? Do I want to freeze 1/4 cup portions or, say, 1 cup
> > portions? All I can think to do with it is to add it to the liquid or
> > drippings for gravy making.
>
> Very little water is needed to rehydrate dried mushrooms. Using a lot
> of water makes little sense.

I probably used more than you would have but it cannot be undone.

> I use the resulting liquid in the dish in which the mushrooms are
> used. The mushrooms themselves will inevitably have more intensive
> taste than their rehydrating liquid, no matter how concentrated.

That certainly makes sense. I will adjust my recipe to include cooking
them in at least part of the soaking liquid.
>
> Recently, I cooked sauerkraut schi, the most Russian soup of them all.
> Regardless, I'd guess that 99% of modern Russians have never tasted real
> schi. First, I prepared sauerkraut.

Homemade?

> I put it in a pot with some minced onions, a few slices of parsley root and a couple of pats of clarified butter.

Will clarified butter solidify so it can be cut into pats? Huh! Do you
keep a jar of it around or prepare it when you know you'll want it
within a day or two? (Just curious.)

> I put the pot in the very slow oven (ca. 110°C/225°F) for about
> 4 hours, imitating the conditions of the Russian oven. Occasionally, I
> checked if the sauerkraut was getting burned or just too dry, in which
> case I added a couple of spoons of sauerkraut juice, stirring the
> sauerkraut. Once the kraut was ready, I put the pot outside, to freeze
> the kraut (the temperatures were below freezing until today) overnight.
> This is important, as it changes the taste of sauerkraut quite a bit.

In what way? Does it mellow it or make it sharper?5

> The next day, I cooked the broth with a piece of beef shank, a couple of
> pieces of brisket (about 1 kg/2.2 pounds of meat total), onions, parsley
> root, celery root, and carrot for about 3 hours,

I'll bet it smells good while cooking. Would you ever use a pressure
cooker for such a recipe?

> strained it, cut the meat in pieces and combined it with the thawed
> sauerkraut, the meat cut in pieces, a handful of rehydrated porcini
> together with their soaking liquid, and continued to cook over low
> heat for about 40 minutes. Served it with dill, minced garlic and
> sour cream. This kind of soup can be - and in fact used to be -
> eaten every day, sometimes more than once a day.


It seems like it would be a good tonic to cleanse one's system. :-\

--
Barb

In article >,
"Giusi" > wrote:

> That might be a stuffing forcemeat or the tomato braising for polenta and
> certainly when making sausage and mushroom cream sauce for pasta. (alla
> Norciera)

Oy, the sausage and mushroom cream sauce sounds like something I would
love.

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
Pepparkakor particulars posted 11-29-2010;
http://web.me.com/barbschaller