If you love foraging for mushrooms, you know what a job it can be to clean wild mushrooms. Read on for all my best tips!
What mushrooms you can find in the forest depends on where you live, both due to climate and of course just the forests! I am thankful that Marius loves to forage for mushrooms and has taken it upon himself to know what the safe ones are and where to find them.
Once you have mastered cleaning various types, you'll greatly enjoy using them in new ways:
How to Clean Wild Mushrooms
Slice off woody or tough ends that are too dirty to clean.
Using a brush to remove surface dirt.
Washing lobster mushrooms in a bowl.
Leftover debris from washing lobster mushrooms.
Chanterelles fresh from the woods.
Beautiful chanterelle mushrooms once cleaned.
Freshly foraged lobster mushrooms.
Lobster mushrooms out to dry after cleaning.
It takes a lot of space to dry mushrooms!
You can also use these cleaning methods on store-bought mushrooms.
FAQs
Lobster, shiitakes, pine, cauliflower, morels, firm porcini, whole button mushrooms are all good examples of mushrooms that can be gently cleaned with water. These tend to be of firmer texture, meaning they will hold up well in water. You will still want to dry them out after washing for best storage.
Chanterelles, oysters, hedgehogs, enoki, soft boletes, fairy rings, sliced button mushrooms are examples of mushrooms with softer textures. These should not be rinsed off with water as they will absorb too much and quickly become mushy. You should only use dry brushes to clean. However, if they are very dirty and you are using them immediately, you can use a damp paper towel to gently wash off any stubborn dirt.
Photos by Dante from Shire by the Sea
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Cleaning Wild Mushrooms
Equipment
- Soft brush
- Firm brush
- Paper towels or tea towels you don’t mind getting “dirty”
- A small sharp mushroom or paring knife
- Large colander
- Large bowl, if washing
- Lots of counter or table space to lay out mushrooms
Ingredients
Can Clean With Water:
- Lobster
- Shiitake
- Pine
- Cauliflower
- Morels
- Firm Porcini
- Whole Button Mushrooms
Can Clean With Brushes:
- Chanterelles
- Oysters
- Hedgehogs
- Enoki
- Soft Boletes
- Fairy Rings
- Sliced Button Mushrooms
Instructions
Cleaning with Water
- Sort through mushrooms and get rid of any that may be rotting or wormy.
- Cut off ends of mushroom stems if they are stuck with dirt.
- Keep a bowl to receive the stems, or other pieces you may cut off if they are undesirable.
- Brush quickly if they are excessively covered in debris. You can skip this step if you think the water will do the trick quickly.
- Place whole mushrooms in a bowl filled with water and quickly wash each mushroom, shake off excess water and place on paper or tea towel. If mushrooms are very dirty, add water to bowl and clean each one individually, shake and then put on towel. If water gets very dirty with lots of grit, change water and proceed.
- Alternatively, if you don't have many mushrooms, you could wash individual mushrooms under running water.
- Chop mushrooms shortly after and cook. Washing mushrooms will speed the decaying regardless of how firm they are.
Cleaning with Brushes
- Sort through mushrooms and get rid of any that may be rotting or wormy. Sometimes you can save a portion of a mushroom if only part of it is off.
- Cut off ends of mushroom stems if they are stuck with dirt.
- Keep a bowl to receive the stems, or other pieces you may cut off if they are undesirable.
- Lay mushrooms out on paper or tea towels. You can do this overnight if you wish as the mushrooms can benefit from the towels absorbing some of the moisture.
- Take each mushroom in hand individually and use soft brush if dirt/debris is loosely clinging. Sometimes you will also need to use the firm brush.
- Don’t be afraid to pick at needles and other debris with your deft fingers if brush isn't doing the trick!
- With the firm brush firmly in hand, you “scratch” at the mushroom gently to get the more stubborn dirt freed from the fungi.
- Place on towels until you’ve gone through your whole batch. At this point you can decide whether to let them dry out more on the towels, refrigerate, cook with, dehydrate or store away. You’ve worked hard for your bounty so be sure to handle your treasure with care!
Notes
- You can order mushroom brushes online, use a house painting brush or use veggie brushes you may already own. Alternatively you can use soft and firm tooth brushes.
- If your mushrooms are very wet, regardless of species, it could benefit to dry them out first before cleaning, unless you are cooking with them immediately.
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