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A Simple Guide to Dehydrating Mushrooms

We posted recently about foraging for wild mushrooms and how to identify them.

One great reason to forage for wild mushrooms is to stock up on them and keep them around for cooking or even as part of your survival food cache.

But how do you store them?

Dehydrating is the best method for mushrooms, and often, when you find them in the grocery store, this is how they have been processed.

It’s very simple and easy to dehydrate mushrooms, here’s how:

Collect the mushrooms you’d like to process. Literally any variety will do, but of course, you’ll probably want to do this with large batches of whatever you’ve collected from foraging.
Wash the mushrooms thoroughly; you might need to use a mushroom or vegetable brush to gently scrub the dirt off.
Pat dry with a paper towel and spread out to dry on a dish towel.
Once most of the excess moisture has dried off, slice your mushrooms into whatever size you’d like to preserve them. Thin slices will dehydrate quickest.
Once they’re cut the way you’d like, spread them out on your dehydrator sheets.
Set your dehydrator to 125 degrees (which is probably the “vegetable” setting) and leave for 4-6 hours. After 4 hours, check to see the progress.
They’re done when they are completely crisp and will snap and break when you bend them, rather than flex.
Store in an airtight container in your pantry or wherever you keep long-term storage. If stored in mylar or vacuum-sealed pouches, they can keep for up to 20 years on a cool, dry shelf!

Mushrooms are a great source of nutrients that can be foraged in many areas. Not only is it important to learn to identify them, but preserve them also! The next time you go out hunting for mushrooms, bring a load home and store some up in your food cache.

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