Can You 🧊Freeze Mushrooms🍄 – Complete Guide

Mushrooms are considered to be very healthy and delicious. Because of this, they are very popular all over the world and is truly loved by many.

However, a lot of people don’t seem to know what they really need to do with the mushrooms after they have purchased them.

Thus, this article is meant to answer all your questions regarding how to freeze mushrooms because there seems to be a lot of confusion on this topic.

But if you want to know how to dehydrate your mushrooms then read our other article on that here.

So if you are one of those people that experiences a similar confusion when it comes to mushrooms, take a seat and keep reading to find out the answer to all of your questions!

Another way of storing mushrooms is
dehydrating them which you can read about HERE.

Can you freeze fresh mushrooms for later use?

This is a question on the minds of a lot of people. If you buy fresh mushrooms today but aren’t feeling eating them yet, is it possible to freeze them?

Well, the answer is simple: absolutely! There is no reason why you should not be able to freeze the fresh mushrooms that you have bought at the market or in the regular supermarket.

However, there are a few things that you have to keep in the back of your mind while doing it to improve your gastronomic enjoyment of the mushrooms. It should be noted that while it’s definitely possible to freeze the mushrooms, the quality won’t be the same as would be the case with fresh mushrooms.

Documentation on freezing mushrooms from Healthline

How to prep your Mushrooms for Freezing

First of all, you have to wash your mushrooms in cold water. Then trim off the ends of the stems and bad looking parts. Then cut up your mushroom so they are no bigger then one-inch, if they are bigger then slice them.

The freezing will change the color and texture of mushrooms. It will make them both darker and softer

Can mushrooms be frozen without cooking?

Yes, you can but if you choose to then remove the stem it doesn’t really freeze well. You can look at the video below on how to do,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmiEllF_ZGU

Cooking for Freezing

As stated above you need to cook your mushrooms before you freeze them this can be done in 2 different ways:

Sauteeing: 
Heat your frying pan with some butter or oil on high heat. Then add the mushrooms into the frying pan. Stirring the mushrooms for around 5min until they are fully cooked and most of the liquid has evaporated from them.

Steaming: 
Steaming will cause the mushrooms to become darker. if you want to prevent this side effect of steaming then you can soak the mushrooms in a solution of one teaspoon lemon juice or 1 1/2 teaspoons of citric acid to one pint of water for five minutes. Then steam following these recommended times:

• Whole mushrooms: 5 minutes
• Button mushrooms: 3 1/2 minutes
• Quartered mushrooms: 3 1/2 minutes
• Sliced mushrooms: 3 minutes

How to Flash Freeze your Mushrooms

After you have either steamed or sauteed your mushrooms then it is time to freeze them.

First, make sure your

Allow the mushrooms to cool completely. Then spread them out on a cookie sheet and flash-freeze them. Once they’re completely frozen, use a spatula to lift the mushrooms from the cookie sheet. Then pack the mushrooms in freezer-safe containers or bags, leaving a half-inch of headspace for expansion, and return them to the freezer.

Squeeze out as much air as possible before you seal the containers. It will help to prevent freezer burn. Frozen mushrooms should be used within a year, though sooner is better.

Use a FoodSaver to vacuum-pack your mushrooms. Since they have a high water content, mushrooms are more prone to freezer burn than other foods.

Note that sometimes washing mushrooms can make them soggy and lead to freezer burn. Some people prefer to simply brush or wipe them off prior to sticking them in the freezer.

Are mushrooms good after being frozen?

Yes, you can still eat mushrooms after they have been frozen, but the quality will decrease a little. Mushrooms consist of a lot of water so when you freeze them they absorb even more water.

When defrosting them later on, they will release that water, which makes it harder to bake them. As a result of the freezing, the mushrooms will lose some of its taste and nutrients.

However, they will remain pretty tasty nonetheless. Because of this, the best way to prepare frozen mushrooms is to add them to any kind of soup. Soups are based on water for the biggest part, so it wouldn’t be dramatic that the mushrooms release all that water while preparing the soup.

The same can be said about the texture of the mushrooms. Mushrooms can get kind of mushy when they are frozen, and that can make it a little uncomfortable to eat them.

Again, when you process the mushrooms to use to prepare some kind of soup, that doesn’t matter because the mushrooms probably will get mixed.

How long are frozen mushrooms good for?

The good news is that frozen mushrooms stay good for quite some time, but only when you freeze them in the right manner.

Before freezing them, you need to stir-fry them for a short amount of time. Then, you must drain them properly and lastly, the mushrooms need to cool down for a bit.

If you freeze them after performing these steps, the mushrooms can be conserved for about 3 to 12 months. If you play your cards right, you might even be able to preserve them for even a longer amount of time.

The most important part is that the temperature in your freezer is cold enough because otherwise, the mushrooms will go bad. If the freezer doesn’t have the right temperature, the whole point of freezing would be futile.

This could affect the texture, the taste and the overall quality of the mushrooms, rendering it completely useless.

Can mushrooms be frozen without cooking?

Yes, but that’s not ideal. It’s best to cook them very shortly before freezing them to extend the conserving time. Another factor is the texture of the mushrooms.

When freezing them without cooking them first, they have a higher chance of becoming mushy and that will affect the overall quality of the mushrooms.

You should keep in mind that there are certain kinds of mushrooms that don’t need to be cooked first and that you can just enjoy after they have been frozen while they were still raw, though that only goes for a small minority of the mushrooms.

When we are talking about normal mushrooms, you, therefore, do need to cook them first and there are different ways to do that. You can boil them in water for a couple of minutes. This is a very easy way to cook them, but it’s not really recommended because of all the water that the mushrooms will absorb.

You could put the mushrooms in the oven for a little while with some herbs added to them, but that’s also not the best way to do that.

The ultimate best way to cook them is to add a little oil to a normal cooking pan and to toss the mushrooms in the pan after the oil got hot. Just move them from one side to another while they are in the pan until they get a beautiful brownish color.

This doesn’t take long, just a few minutes or so is enough. If you find it easier, you can even already add the other ingredients you would need for a classical stir-fry and just freeze it all together, though it remains best to just freeze the mushrooms apart.

Before putting the mushrooms in the freezer, you should use a kitchen towel or something similar to get rid of most of the moisture on the surface of the mushrooms.

That way you prevent the mushrooms from absorbing too much water and that will have a positive effect on the quality of the mushrooms when you decide to take them out of the freezer after some time.

How do you defrost frozen mushrooms?

The best way to defrost mushrooms depends on the kind of mushrooms we’re talking about.

In general, though, you don’t need to defrost them at all. Because of their ability to absorb a lot of water, the mushrooms will become mushy and their taste will suffer from it.

So, it’s best to keep the mushrooms in frozen form and to add them directly in your cooking pan or pot when making a meal.

However, if you’re using the frozen mushrooms to make a soup or something similar, you must go about it another way. If that’s the case, you should take the frozen mushrooms out of the freezer, lay them down on a towel exposed to room temperature and finally, just leave them be for a couple of hours.

That way, the mushrooms will release a lot of water and become kind of soft, but that’s not bad, seeing as you’re just going to use them to mix into a soup.

What kind of dishes can you prepare with frozen mushrooms?

When it comes to particular dishes, there aren’t really any limitations and the possibilities are endless!

A first way to prepare the frozen mushrooms is to add them to a stir-fry. You can get really original with this and use the opportunity to experiment with a lot of new flavors.

When choosing this option, it’s best to use mushrooms that haven’t been frozen for a very long time, because the longer they have been frozen, the more the texture of the mushrooms will change and it won’t be very pleasant to have that texture in your mouth.

Another way to prepare the frozen mushrooms is to add them to a salad or to just eat them without any kind of side dish. You can put the whole mushrooms in your salad or you can chop them into really small dices or slice them into thin slices.

Again, the quality of the mushrooms will decrease as a lot of time goes by, so I would not recommend waiting too long before preparing your salad. Again, the texture and the overall humidity aren’t very nice after a couple of months so that’s not ideal to have in your salad.

Can you use Frozen Mushrooms in Soup?

Finally, as already been said, you can use the frozen mushrooms to mix into any kind of soup. So you can really experiment with different kinds of soups. You could make a typical mushroom soup or vegetable soup or you can even just use the mushrooms as a garnish for other kinds of soups.

To use frozen mushrooms for the preparation of some kind of soup, you first need to chop the mushrooms into little cubes or slice the mushrooms into slices. You don’t have to be super careful with this, seeing as you will have to throw the mushrooms into a mixer afterward anyway.

After dicing the mushrooms, you can add a little salt or pepper and just throw them into a mixer and eventually add some other kinds of vegetables as well.

Can you refreeze mushrooms?

As a general rule, you should never refreeze defrosted food a second time.

Also, it will greatly affect the texture and the overall quality of the mushrooms.

Freezing the mushrooms for the first time already causes a lot of taste, and texture to go lost, but freezing them for a second time will only add further to those negative side effects.

The already mushy mushrooms will become very soft and have a bad watery taste. That’s not as big of a problem when your goal is to make soup or something similar, but it’s more of an issue when we’re talking about a stir-fry or something like that.

How Can I See if My Frozen Mushrooms Have Gone Bad?

You can check this by checking the smell of the mushrooms. If the frozen mushrooms don’t really smell like anything or if they generate some kind of bad smell, you probably shouldn’t eat them anymore and just throw them away.

However, that’s not all. Mushrooms that have gone bad, often produce some sort of slimy substance and it will be coated all over the surface of the mushrooms. You can’t miss this because the mushrooms will definitely not look the same as that they once have been.

If you do by chance were to miss that the mushrooms have gone bad, this can have some consequences for your health. It is no secret that that expired food can cause some symptoms of sickness and mushrooms are no exception to this general rule.

Eating bad mushrooms can cause feelings of nausea and problems with your digestive system. So do not risk it

How do you preserve fresh mushrooms?

When you are not freezing them, fresh mushrooms are best preserved in a regular fridge for a couple of days after purchasing them.

However, it’s important that the mushrooms are properly able to breathe. To achieve this, you should store the mushrooms in certain kinds of packages. The best way to preserve them is to just keep them in their original package that you got at the store or at the market.

If you don’t have access to their original package, you can always use alternatives of course. A great alternative, for example, is to keep them in a regular paper bag without closing it fully. It should also be noted that it’s not recommended to store the mushrooms with vegetables that have a rather strong smell because the smell will rub off on the mushrooms.

For example, vegetables like onions or leeks are the worst in terms of smell. When you put those vegetables together with your fresh mushrooms, the mushrooms will greatly absorb the smell and that will ultimately affect the overall taste of the mushrooms.

When the vegetables are put together for a relatively long amount of time, the taste of your fresh mushrooms will be altered to such an extent that they won’t even taste like mushrooms anymore. They will taste like some mutant of your other vegetables and that would be a real shame.