Freezing mushrooms

rosieben

here is Thriftlady's thread Meal Building Blocks for the freezer

hotcookie101

I also freeze raw mushrooms (only if get a glut though, or loads that are reduced to clear-just open freeze then bag up)
I don't tend to have a huge amount of veg spare-we get a veg box every 2 weeks and it seems to do me and OH quite well, but if I do have any carrots/leeks etc I usually make soup, but can just chop (or blitz in FP) and freeze.

I do a thing like thriftlady's freezer "mush" but just tend to do as I need it, eg for bolognase-carrots celery onions, chilli or mexican style soup stuff I like to add a green pepper to the FP if I have one (I don't like green peppers on their own-too bitter, but they are good as part of a base)

I also will roast/grill slices of aubergine with olive oil until soft, then open freeze them and pop into a bag-it makes moussaka a LOT easier to throw together quickly

SallyForth_2

I have frozon stews, curries and pasta sauses which have had mushrooms in them, and they don't appear to suffer when defrosted.

jumblejack

Hi all.

Recently I had a glut of whoopsied mushrooms and came up with the idea of freezing them.

I have just gone to fry some up but they are sooooo limp and watery. Yuck!

Has anyone done this successfully? If so, how?

Justamum

I've frozen mushrooms successfully before, but I would then only use them as an ingredient in a pasta sauce or something.

Aarons_mummy

I froze some a couple of weeks ago but haven't used them yet as above says I'd use them in a sauce or bolognaise or something sorry can't help hopefully someone else will be along soon

Kitchenbunny

I fry mine lightly in a bit of butter and sometimes some garlic and herbs, and then use them in pasta dishes or pie fillings where you don't notice the texture as much.

HtH

KB xx

jumblejack

Basically it seems to be a case of hiding them in some other dish? I fried them to go with the last 2 rashers of bacon as a scooby snack but lost my appetite a little when first tucking in!

belfastgirl23

You could try defrosting slowly in the fridge? Apparently the cell walls don't break down in the same way. Not sure if it will work or not but it does help with frozen broccoli etc...

Seakay

I would cook them before freezing so as to drive off all the excess water (chop dry fry in a non stick pan or use a very little fat)

Do not panic that they are limp and watery now, cook them alone or with a little fat and the heat will get rid of most of the liquid. You may not be left with crunch but you will have flavour!

I haven't come across a way of preserving mushrooms that allows then to retain their fresh texture, but the flavour is almost always improved!