The Great Sequestration has started me thinking more about food preservation as a matter of necessity and not just as a good foodie thing to do. When we did our first ever online grocery order, button mushrooms were on a crazy-good sale and I found a recipe for Polish preserved mushrooms. Fermentation is the preservation method, something I’ve been doing for a few years now.
I used dried herbs I already had in the house and the salt content is a little over 4% of the weight of the mushrooms in order to have a safe fermentation.
After four weeks fermenting, the result tastes slightly pickled with a hint of garlic, the sourness coming from the fermentation. They’re probably best served as an hors d’oeuvre. Fermented mushrooms are traditionally served on rye bread and are also great on crackers.
Ingredients:
- 8 oz. (228 grams) Button Mushrooms
- 1½ cups Water
- 10 grams (2 tsp.) Redmond Real Salt
- 1 tsp. Dill Seeds
- 1 tsp. Caraway Seeds
- 1 tsp. Granulated Garlic
- 2 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
Directions:
Step 1: Bring the spices and 1½ cups water to a boil in order to dissolve the salt. Let cool.
Step 2: Wash and scrape off any dirt on the mushrooms. Slice into quarters. Boil the mushrooms for five minutes, strain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to a sterilized fermentation vessel and add the cooled spice mixture. Submerge the mushrooms with a weight and cover the vessel. Ferment for 3 – 4 weeks, remove the weight and refrigerate.
Notes:
There are a number of home fermentation kits on the market that utilize mason jars. I happened to find the Ferment’n Home Fermentation Kit at a natural foods store and it works pretty slick. The important key for fermentation is to use a sea salt that is between 3 – 5 % of the weight of the produce you’re working with.
Schmecken! 