View Full Version : dried mushrooms
litetrek
11-07-2015, 19:38
This is probably a pretty rudimentary question but I don't know the answer. I'd like to make some mushroom gravy for a backpacking meal (for mashed potatoes) and I've found a packet of onion gravy at the grocery store that I think I could add some dehydrated mushrooms to. I've looked all over on line and can only find large quantities of dried mushrooms for sale. Whole foods has them but they are very small quantities and they sell for $50 a pound plus or minus. So two questions 1) where can I buy a small quantity of dried mushrooms and 2) how do I re-hydrate them?
On a related topoc how hard would it be to dry some mushrooms myself if I dont have a dehydrater?
squeezebox
11-07-2015, 20:08
The Asian markets have dried mushrooms, and dried peppers, not much else dried I think.
litetrek
11-07-2015, 20:28
The Asian markets have dried mushrooms, and dried peppers, not much else dried I think.
I live in Atlanta Georgia. I've lived here for 25 years but I'm not aware of any Asian markets here. Maybe the Asian section of the farmers market would have them but that's pretty far away. Plenty of bbq, though.
Blue Mountain Edward
11-07-2015, 20:33
Amazon got quite a selection. Or try your local Asian market and it should cost around $20 a pound.
Have you looked at Harmony House?
http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com/Mushrooms_c_18.html
Blue Mountain Edward
11-07-2015, 20:42
Large asian markets got lots of dried foods.
Blue Mountain Edward
11-07-2015, 20:47
Rehydrate with boiling water.
Dochartaigh
11-07-2015, 21:16
I live in Atlanta Georgia. I've lived here for 25 years but I'm not aware of any Asian markets here. Maybe the Asian section of the farmers market would have them but that's pretty far away. Plenty of bbq, though.
14 Asian Markets in/around Atlanta (and that's just the ones that had their shops listed on Google Maps...).
https://www.google.com/maps/search/asian+market+near+atlanta,+ga/@33.7418704,-84.522815,11z/data=!3m1!4b1
Not in large quantities but most grocery stores have dried mushrooms in the produce area sometimes hanging from overhead clips in the loose misted produce area but sometimes also near the dried tomatoes, pine nuts, dried packaged spices, in this same area.
OMG, Whole Foods certainly has some VERY VERY pricey thoroughly dried mushrooms sold in bulk usually in glass barrels or lexan cubes. They are so expensive they are often sold by the ounce costing well in excess of $50/lb! Don't automatically let the initial sticker shock dissuade you thorough. They are often very flavorful and extremely light so a very small amount go a long way. Like expensive snow pea pods a little bit, like $3, goes a long way but the cost /lb is like $6-8. What I've done in my hiking meals is buy small amounts of various sometimes hard to find interesting textured and flavored mushrooms to suit my needs. Remember dried mushrooms usually have an intensified flavor - little can go a long way for flavoring - AND THE BEST PART ABOUT IT THE FLAVORING IS ALL FROM THE MUSHROOMS NOT THAT CHEMICAL AND SPICE PACKAGED SAUCE CONCOCTION. What I also like about the Whole Foods I've bought dried mushrooms from is they are freshly dried(WF regularly moves product in bulk bins! and carefully controls for quality and freshness far better than most stores), meaning plump dried mushrooms, meaning they offer more texture, compared to some grocery store packaged dried mushrooms that largely turn into a mushroom powder upon adding to meals.
Depending on the mushroom variety and the freshness depends on the rehydrating time. If you want to try cheapo dried mushrooms try the ****ake Dried mushroom caps that can be found in mainstream grocery stores usually in the Asian or International Foods aisle. But I've also seem them in small flat packages usually not very freshly dried in even Dollar stores in some areas for as little as $1-2. These need more rehydrating time in my opinion but do offer flavor and some texture if not radically old. For this reason, I'll often have my larger mushrooms varieties that I want left in larger pieces for texture separate in my prepacked trail meals. I'll start soaking these mushrooms sooner than the rest of my meal.
Yo! Litetrek!
You got a Trader Joe's in Atlanta? That place is like a temple of backpacking food. I can't vouch for dried mushrooms, but they have freeze dried fruit, trail mix fixings out the wazoo, and more chocolate covered fruits and nuts than you can imagine. Oh, and salmon jerky.
Wayne
Sent from somewhere around here.
You can also find dried mushroom varieties usually with a good selection possibly not at WF prices is at Sprouts in the Atlanta area.
Tell ya another thing. When I'm doing a trail food shopping list at Whole Foods I'm absolutely aware not all WFs are the same in varieties of products carried or prices. There absolutely exists local and regional price differences. For example, FOR ME, I stay out of WFs or sharply curtail my spending in some upper crust hoity toity areas like the Buckhead WFs locations. Same can be said for other chains. ABSOLUTELY, be careful where you shop always.
Sprouts is cool. Earth Fare if you find them.
Trader Joe's is habit forming.
Wayne
Sent from somewhere around here.
I live in Atlanta Georgia. I've lived here for 25 years but I'm not aware of any Asian markets here. Maybe the Asian section of the farmers market would have them but that's pretty far away. Plenty of bbq, though.
Are you kidding??? Buford highway has miles of Asian markets. And the Buford Highway farmers market at the NW corner of Buford highway and 285 has an extraordinary assortment of Asian foods.
Spacelord
11-08-2015, 00:15
They're in Chamblee and one in Roswell also.
Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk
Yeah, on a not big enough paycheck short work Friday when I'd rather be out in the rain or snow backpacking, trudging to atop a western 14K summit, or slopping around the muddy Alaskan backcountry you might catch me at the Avalon WholeFoods in Alpharetta on Old Milton Pkwy or Johns Creek Whole Foods in Duluth on State Bridge Rd noshing some pretentious Vegan dish and trading subtle glances through my eyebrows almost in Full Metal Jacket Private Pyle fashion making attempts at cordially slapping palms and making more interesting talk about what more to consume or the economic state of the Union with the M.D.s, Execs, small biz owners, Foreign Tech Grads, Ivy League Alums, engineers, Waspish Platinum American Express card carrying once sorority co-eds lacrosse, soccer, and tennis moms in their Beemers and Benzs, and the rest of the social and economic ladder climbers pretending we are all exactly where we want to be. :D
rocketsocks
11-08-2015, 01:25
My local Asian market has a dynamite selection of dried goods...cheap! Now you got me wanting some mushroom soup, YUM, next time I'm there I'll check into it.
Trailweaver
11-08-2015, 03:23
You can dehydrate your own mushrooms by slicing (or chopping to whatever you want) them, spread them on a sheet of parchment paper (so they won't stick to the pan), set oven on the lowest setting (200?), and crack the oven door. Check them every 30 mins or so until they are what you want.
Also - packitgourmet.com has a lot of dried or dehydrated items.
Pedaling Fool
11-08-2015, 08:27
I agree with above. If you are having difficulties finding dried mushrooms than I would recommend just dehydrating them yourself from the grocery store, you may even be able to get away with just putting them on a cookie sheet without any parchment paper.
Mushrooms are one of the quickest and easiest things to dehydrate http://foodpreservation.about.com/od/Dehydrating/a/How-To-Dry-Mushrooms-Oven-Method.htm
litetrek
11-08-2015, 10:31
14 Asian Markets in/around Atlanta (and that's just the ones that had their shops listed on Google Maps...).
https://www.google.com/maps/search/asian+market+near+atlanta,+ga/@33.7418704,-84.522815,11z/data=!3m1!4b1
Thanks. I was not aware of any of those. None of them are close to me though. The closest is about 12 miles away. I didn't think of using google maps. Thanks for the good suggestion.
litetrek
11-08-2015, 10:39
Are you kidding??? Buford highway has miles of Asian markets. And the Buford Highway farmers market at the NW corner of Buford highway and 285 has an extraordinary assortment of Asian foods.
I forgot about Buford highway. That said I spend two hours in traffic every day of the work week. I'm not willing to drive all the way to buford highway and back for mushrooms (probably why I didn't think about it). I'll go without rather than making that trip. Thanks for the suggestion though.
litetrek
11-08-2015, 11:05
OK folks. Please stop beating me up. I said I was not AWARE of any asian markets here. Clearly there are some and I didn't know that. That said I don't live in town and most the the ones pointed out are a long drive through a lot of traffic. I drive 75 miles a day and spend a total of about 10 hours a week in traffic so going on a quest for something I can easily do without is something anyone would naturally want to avoid.
Before I posted the question I checked 3 Kroger stores, several publix, Whole foods and two different walmarts and many online vendors including harmony house and packit gourmet. The online guys were all reasonably priced until you add on shipping but generally the smallest available quantity is 3 times what I need. Whole foods has what I want but it is very expensive for experimenting with. There is a Trader Joes close by. Great suggestion. I'll check it out today. Sprouts hasn't made it to my area yest ... coming soon.
WingedMonkey
11-08-2015, 11:42
Before I posted the question I checked 3 Kroger stores, several publix, Whole foods and two different walmarts
Publix usually has them around the soup department.
litetrek
11-08-2015, 12:35
Publix usually has them around the soup department.
Thanks. That's where I looked. I'll look again next time I'm there. I don't want to spend a lot or buy too much because I'm just experimenting with them.
Odd Man Out
11-08-2015, 14:10
Our run of the mill super market sells small packages of mixed dried mushrooms in the Asian food isle. We keep some at home to throw in soups and stir fry. Hadn't thought to throw some in backpacking meals but I'm sure they would be good. I would dice them for quick rehydration.
Tipi Walter
11-08-2015, 15:47
You can dehydrate your own mushrooms by slicing (or chopping to whatever you want) them, spread them on a sheet of parchment paper (so they won't stick to the pan), set oven on the lowest setting (200?), and crack the oven door. Check them every 30 mins or so until they are what you want.
Also - packitgourmet.com has a lot of dried or dehydrated items.
Yeah, just dry your own at home. My setup---
https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpack-2015-Trips-161/20-Days-on-Medicare/i-Z8KkCLL/0/L/TRIP%20166%20006-L.jpg
I get em in my supermarket. You can rehydrate in liquid - bring to a boil, take it off the heat, put the mushrooms in..Water works, but chicken stock or red wine works better!
litetrek
11-08-2015, 16:32
OK, here's an update. I went to Trader Joe's right after lunch. They don't have them. I asked customer service about it and he said they were discontinued. Then I went to Publix and the teen aged young man I talked with assured me that all the mushrooms they sell are dry because if they were kept wet they would grow mold. I elaborated on the concept of dried mushrooms and used the word dehydrated and he repeated that having wet mushrooms would be bad so they dont sell anything wet. He was emphatic that they didn't have anything like what I wanted. So I went to customer service and they found some half dried mushrooms in the produce department. Close but not what I wanted. Then I went to yet another Kroger. They had what I was looking for but I had to go through several people to find someone who knew they actually knew they had them. Way too much trouble to find one item that I really don't even need. I believe I'll dry my own if I can find a nice wire grid like someone posted.
REMEMBER: Publix only sells dry mushrooms because it would be bad to sell wet ones.
Blue Mountain Edward
11-08-2015, 17:43
I ordered 3 types of mushrooms from Amazon. Free delivery with a $35 order. Quick and easy, no wasted time or gas. The imported Chinese mushrooms are quite stinky and a small amount is all you need, all flavor few calories.
I'm sorry that Trader Joe's didn't have the mushrooms. I do stand by my other statements. Best backpacking trail food ever.
Wayne
Sent from somewhere around here.
litetrek
11-08-2015, 21:48
I'm sorry that Trader Joe's didn't have the mushrooms. I do stand by my other statements. Best backpacking trail food ever.
Wayne
Sent from somewhere around here.
No big deal. Yours was the best suggestion I got. I appreciate it. I was surprised that TJ's didn't have them.
I'm still getting my brain around what the Publix kid told you and the idea of wet mushrooms(fungi) going "bad" because of other fungi(mold)? What are "wet" mushrooms according to this Publix employee?
Geezer's Guess: "Kid" says all I need to know. [emoji3]
Ducking for cover.
Seriously, having shopped for fresh mushrooms recently, most were in shrink wrapped containers making transportation and display easy. Side benefit: they stay dry in case of over spray in the produce department. Of course there were loose mushrooms in the same section.
Who knows.
Wayne
Sent from somewhere around here.
rocketsocks
11-09-2015, 00:20
One thing I'll say about shrooms, ya pretty much can't over cook em...they taste better the more you put the screws to em.
litetrek
11-09-2015, 14:45
I'm still getting my brain around what the Publix kid told you and the idea of wet mushrooms(fungi) going "bad" because of other fungi(mold)? What are "wet" mushrooms according to this Publix employee?
I didnt spend a lot of time talking with him. I was shocked by his ignorance, but was so entertained by it I had to share it with the group.
dzierzak
11-09-2015, 14:51
It is possible for mushrooms to go "bad", i.e. have mold grow on them. Had some fall behind the drawer in the refrigerator. They were fuzzy when extricated...
squeezebox
11-09-2015, 15:11
It is possible for mushrooms to go "bad", i.e. have mold grow on them. Had some fall behind the drawer in the refrigerator. They were fuzzy when extricated...
Me to !! ....
litetrek
11-09-2015, 15:34
As I mentioned earlier I finally found some mushrooms to experiment with. I put a few in water for an hour per the directions and they are waterlogged like a wet sponge. Is this how they come out or did I do something wrong? They taste great but way too watery.
Another Kevin
11-09-2015, 18:00
Mushrooms rehydrate pretty quickly, I usually just throw mine in with whatever other veggies are going in the meal I'm packing.
I find that I can usually get dried porcini mushrooms at any grocery store with a big Italian clientele. Never had trouble finding them around here. I don't know what I'd do in redneckistan.
Pedaling Fool
11-09-2015, 18:20
I'm still getting my brain around what the Publix kid told you and the idea of wet mushrooms(fungi) going "bad" because of other fungi(mold)? What are "wet" mushrooms according to this Publix employee?It doesn't surprise me in the least; there are some really dumb people out there.
... So I went to customer service and they found some half dried mushrooms in the produce department.This is what I don't understand. What are half-dried mushrooms?
...I believe I'll dry my own if I can find a nice wire grid like someone posted.
I bet you could get away with drying them on a cookie sheet and probably not need to flip them, despite what the instructions say; they're a very porous food and quickly dries thoroughly, unlike something like tomatoes. I'd at least do one test package.
As I mentioned earlier I finally found some mushrooms to experiment with. I put a few in water for an hour per the directions and they are waterlogged like a wet sponge. Is this how they come out or did I do something wrong? They taste great but way too watery.Were theses dehydrated mushrooms? I can't see any reason to soak for one hour, they very quickly re-hydrate, for the same reason they quickly dehydrate.
When I make my stews I always add them after my meal is cooked, there's plenty enough residual moisture to re-hydrate. I also would never put them into boiling water, that's too much and can take away from the flavor, the only dehydrated food that I can think of that I may put in boiling water is jerky.
litetrek
11-09-2015, 20:16
What I meant by half dried is partially dehydrated. I would describe them as leathery. Why you would buy them rather than fresh ones I'm not sure. The porcini mushrooms I eventually bought are leathery and not completely dried out.
Pedaling Fool
11-10-2015, 07:51
What I meant by half dried is partially dehydrated. I would describe them as leathery. Why you would buy them rather than fresh ones I'm not sure. The porcini mushrooms I eventually bought are leathery and not completely dried out.Interesting...I've never heard of partially dehydrated anything...
I'm a home dehydrator and everything I've read about dehydration is that you always fully dehydrate everything. Basically partially dehydrated = not dehydrated (at least in home dehydrating systems).
Just Bill
11-10-2015, 11:00
On the mushroom gravy, etc...
when you eventually locate your shrooms...
Put some dried ones into a coffee grinder to make a (mostly) powder. Don't worry too much if you miss a few chunks unless you want absolutely smooth gravy. You'd have to play with your gravy base, but i'd guess equal parts mix and powder would give you a rich mushroom flavor.
I use the powder for cream of mushroom based soups.
For cream of mushroom- equal parts mushroom powder, nido, and chicken broth (or veggie broth if that's your thing).
You can also add a 1/4 cup of the powder to any beef broth based dish to add more umami.
Like most dried veggies, they work best in soups or stews. I find that baby bellas (small portabellas) cut into quarters works best. If you're making your own at home- I like to stem all the shrooms and dry the caps separately. I save the stems for the powder. I just put them in my dehydrator and usually make a big batch.
My favorite mushroom soup-
1/4 cup dried mushroom caps
1/4 cup dried leeks or green onions
1/4 cup dried turkey italian sausage (the turkey version keeps and comes back better)
1/4 cup of Nido
1/2 pack of "good" ramen http://www.amazon.com/Ka-Me-Noodles-Japanese-Curly-Chuka/dp/B000ET8XAQ/ref=sr_1_16?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1447167198&sr=1-16&keywords=ramen+noodles
good bit of red pepper flakes
oregano,tarragon, thyme, rosemary to taste
3 cups water
two or three packets of Trader joes low sodium chicken broth concentrate. (start with two, works for me)
You could probably fbc this, but I usually warm it all on my stove at once then dump into my ziplok cozy.
WingedMonkey
11-10-2015, 17:38
For years I kept Tones sliced mushrooms (freeze dried) on hand.
For quick use all you do is pour water over them, for wet recipes just add to liquid.
But...for some reason I can't find them at Sams Club theses days.
32583
http://www.tones.com/product?id=54
Portobello flavored coffee? Hmm, this a most unusual tasting cuppa Joe you've made Bill. Never tasted anything quite like it. It has an earthy woodsy aroma like umm, tree fungus.
Diamondlil
11-10-2015, 22:13
If you've found onion gravy mix, you should have no problem finding Mushroom gravy mix as well. I've used that and it tastes great.
Also, dehydrated shiitake mushrooms can be purchased in small packages in Asian Food Markets for about $5.00 and work well.
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rocketsocks
11-17-2015, 17:26
Finally got a chance to stop by my local Asian market and here's what I found...damn near a whole isle of nuthin' but shrooms.
32669
Straight up in the air even. Love the colors. Must be the Psychedelic 'Shroom section.
Wayne
rocketsocks
11-17-2015, 17:32
Straight up in the air even. Love the colors. Must be the Psychedelic 'Shroom section.
Waynethe hardest part is figuring out what they all are, my Chinese is a bit rusty these days.
rocketsocks
11-17-2015, 17:33
Ha ha that's what I told some dude there one day. Hey bud, hats this...he laughed.
rocketsocks
11-17-2015, 18:40
cause I hate wrenchin' my neck
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