Olive Nation Blog

ALL ABOUT DRIED MUSHROOMS

Posted by John Rusnak in Mushrooms, Sep 22 2009

Flavor is what counts and this is what you get from the dried mushrooms and their liquid essence. After soaking, dried mushrooms produce an essence with an intense flavor. If using the mushrooms in a sauce or soup, soak them in a small amount of the water, stock or broth you plan to use in preparing the dish. The soaking liquid may also be used in cooking to increase the mushroom flavor. This is especially true with porcini mushrooms. The liquid can be reduced or simply added to soups, stews, pasta sauces and other sauces.

Why are they so expensive? It takes one hundred pounds of fresh mushrooms to yield ten pounds of dried. Fresh mushrooms are 90 percent water.