In autumn, honey fungus can often be found in large numbers, preferably in young trees and often even in your own garden. Incidentally, collecting and preparing this fungus is a good idea for ecological reasons: honey fungus lives as a parasite and in some cases threatens entire forests, which is why foresters are not particularly happy about its frequent occurrence. But be careful: this edible mushroom is poisonous when raw, which is why you have to cook it well - in contrast to other toadstools, its toxins are sensitive to heat.
Dried honey fungus has a very long shelf life
Dry honey fungus properly - Here's how
For drying, collect only the young, still closed or almost closed hats of honey fungus. The recognizable lamellae should be white, hats with dark lamellae should also be discarded. The tough and mostly inedible stalks are not used in the kitchen. In the kitchen, after collecting, proceed as follows:
- Carefully clean the hats with a paring knife and mushroom brush.
- Then cut them into thin slices.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Spread the honey fungus slices loosely and airy on it.
- Preheat the oven to 50 °C and switch on "convection".
- The oven must be left slightly open so that the escaping moisture can escape.
- To do this, clamp a wooden cooking spoon or something similar between the door and the oven.
- The mushrooms should dry in the oven for at least five hours, longer if necessary.
- The mushrooms are dry when they rustle and can no longer be bent.
Like all dried mushrooms, dried honey fungus is best kept in a jar with a lid that can be closed properly. This should be in a dark and cool place. If available, you can also dry the honey fungus in a dehydrator or a drying oven.
Do not wash honey fungus before drying
Actually, honey fungus should always be washed and boiled before each use so that the toxins are no longer effective. These two work steps are omitted when drying, because the honey fungus can then no longer be dried sufficiently - and a large part of the toxins present are rendered harmless by the heat during drying anyway. Therefore, it is sufficient to clean the mushrooms dry with a knife and a brush. Nevertheless, you should soak the dried mushrooms in water for at least half an hour before using them again, discard the soaking water and only use the honey fungus for stews with a cooking time of at least 45 minutes.
tips
The honey fungus can also be preserved very well by freezing. In this case, however, you should definitely boil it beforehand.
The garden journal freshness ABC
How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?
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