Dehydrated mushrooms

Maison Borde offers a very wide range of dried mushrooms.

Drying (or dehydration) is an ancestral preservation method through which the mushrooms' water content is removed. Humans have always sought to preserve their food, and the most natural method of doing so is through air drying – a technique used for fish, meat and cereals, as well as mushrooms. This method promotes the preservation of mushrooms without denaturing them, giving a result close to the mushroom's "fresh" state, as it retains all its organoleptic qualities. Drying mushrooms allows them to be preserved in a natural way and does not alter, or only slightly alters, their taste and flavours. This makes consuming mushrooms all year round possible, as products dried in this way can be stored for long periods of up to 24 months.

At Borde, wild mushrooms are dried through various methods:

• Outdoor drying: mushrooms are usually arranged on outdoor racks. They are dried under the effect of the breeze and sun, regularly turned to promote the elimination of water. This so-called "slow" drying method will allow the mushroom's flavours to be preserved as best possible, revealing its full aromatic potential. However, it is a very random technique and can require more or less time depending on weather conditions. 
• Oven drying: this consists of removing the water contained in mushrooms by subjecting them to more or less high temperatures. This method makes it possible to control the heating time and is generally faster than outdoor drying, as the fungi is exposed to higher temperatures. However, as a result, the fungi's aromatic profile will be less potent (loss of aromatic volatile compounds) compared to outdoor drying.
• Wood-fire drying: some mushrooms can be dried by the heat of a wood fire. This method is often used for drying morels and gives them a very characteristic "smoke" smell. This technique is used for morels from India, Turkey and Yunnan.

How do you rehydrate dried mushrooms?

Rehydrating dried mushrooms is very simple.

• Simply soak them in warm water or milk for around 15 minutes.
• Drain them, then immerse them in boiling water for 1 minute. Press them gently.
• Your mushrooms are now ready to be cooked, but they must be thoroughly cooked before eating. You can then cook them according to your chosen recipe, just like fresh mushrooms.

Nb: for morels, we recommend rinsing well (2 times) to remove any impurities.

Régis and Jacques Marcon's rehydration tip: as a general rule, 15 to 20 minutes should be enough to rehydrate your mushrooms by soaking them in warm water. Régis and Jacques Marcon, with whom we work (three-star chefs in Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid), rehydrate dried mushrooms for 48 hours and then use the rehydration water in their preparations.

How do you reused the water used to rehydrate dried mushrooms?

For an even more pronounced mushroom flavour, you can recover the water from the rehydrated mushrooms by filtering it through a fine mesh sieve to remove any impurities. This flavoured water can then be used to deglaze your meats, cook pasta, rice or legumes, incorporate it into a broth or make a reduction for a sauce base.

How to cook dried mushrooms?

Once the mushrooms have been rehydrated and pressed, you can cook them according to your preferred method: in a frying pan with a little oil or directly in all your dishes: in the oven, in a casserole (sauce dishes), etc.

Dried mushrooms can be used in a wide range of combinations: cream-based sauces, soups, veloutés, béchamels, gratins, purées, pastas, risottos, quiches, pies, omelettes and served with white meats (poultry) or vegetables (stir-fry or as a side dish)

To make sauces or cream soups, you can also blend your mushrooms (not rehydrated) and add them to your dishes (purées, cream soups, sauces, pasta, savoury pie crust, quiches, omelettes). If you have any mushroom powder left over, you can store it in a jar for future use.

See all our recipes: https://www.borde.fr/en/recipes

What is the difference between dried and fresh mushrooms? 

To obtain 100 grams of dried mushrooms, you need around 1 kilo of fresh mushrooms.

What is the difference between dried and rehydrated mushrooms?

To give you an idea of the equivalence between dried and rehydrated mushrooms, we recommend consulting the rehydration rates of dried mushrooms by variety:

• Porcini mushrooms: x4 (40 g dried porcini mushrooms = 160 g rehydrated porcini mushrooms) 
• Chanterelles: x3 (30 g dried chanterelles = 90 g rehydrated chanterelles)
• Morels: x4 (25 g dried morels = 100 g rehydrated morels)
• Wild mushrooms mix: x5 (30 g dried wild mushrooms = 150 g rehydrated wild mushrooms)
• Black trumpets: x4 (30 g dried black trumpets = 120 g rehydrated black trumpets)
• Fairy ring mushrooms: x5 (30 g dried fairy ring mushrooms = 150 g rehydrated fairy ring mushrooms)
• Cloud ear mushrooms: x7 (30 g dried cloud ear mushrooms = 210 g rehydrated cloud ear mushrooms)
• Shiitake mushrooms: x5 (30 g dried shiitake mushrooms = 150 g rehydrated shiitake mushrooms)

In terms of equivalence between dried and fresh mushrooms, remember that it takes 1 kilo of fresh mushrooms to obtain 100 grams of dried mushrooms.