How to Sun-Dry and Preserve Mushrooms for a Year

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He enjoys sharing his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Sun-Drying Mushrooms

Mushrooms are a rich source of fibre, protein and antioxidants. Although they are low in vitamin D, they have the capacity to make vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. This property comes in handy for people who live in very cold climates where the sun is out for just a few months a year; they can sun-dry mushrooms during the period of sunshine and store them for year-round use—thus preventing vitamin D deficiency. Dr Khadar Vali, an Indian scientist and food expert, suggests that consuming sun-dried mushrooms twice a week may be sufficient to keep vitamin D levels at a healthy level.

Using a Copper Plate

The structured water mentioned in this recipe is easy to prepare if you have a copper plate. Place this copper plate in water stored in an earthen or steel pot for at least seven hours or overnight. The copper plate helps to remove plastic nanoparticles and other impurities from the water, and it needs to be cleaned with tamarind or lemon and salt every day. You can use normal potable water if you cannot make structured water.

These sun-dried mushrooms will keep well for up to a year.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 400 grams button mushrooms (or any other variety)
• 25-30 grams imli (tamarind), to make tamarind water
• Structured water (or subsitute normal potable water)

Instructions

1. Prepare the tamarind water: Soak the tamarind in a bowl of hot water until it softens. Then mash it and strain out the fibre. Your tamarind water is ready.
2. Clean the mushrooms, then soak them in the tamarind water for 10 minutes. Scrub the mushrooms and transfer them to a bowl of structured water.
3. Scrub the mushrooms again and transfer them to a colander. Let them drain until the excess water drips out.
4. Slice the mushrooms into thin slices, then spread them out on steel trays.
5. Dry the mushroom slices in sunlight until they are completely dry.
6. Store the dried mushrooms in an airtight glass bottle or jar. Use an amber-coloured glass bottle or jar if you wish to store them for a year.

Further Reading

• A Review of Mushrooms as a Potential Source of Dietary Vitamin D
  When commonly consumed mushroom species are exposed to a source of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, such as sunlight or a UV lamp, they can generate nutritionally relevant amounts of vitamin D.
• Structured Water: Defintion, Benefits, Research, and More
  Structured water is said to have a unique structure that offers a range of health benefits. We'll go over the claims made about structured water and see if there's any evidence to support them.

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly