Mushrooms have a permanent place on my shopping list. I don't always have a plan for using them, but I know that after a week of slipping them into frittatas and stir-fries, I'll be ready to buy more. For longest shelf-life, I use two different methods for storing my mushrooms.
For commercial mushrooms that I buy plastic-wrapped at the grocery store, I keep them in their original packaging in the refrigerator. Unopened, these mushrooms will keep for nearly a week before starting to go slimy and brown. If I open a package but have mushrooms leftover, I wrap the container in plastic wrap and poke a few holes to allow air flow.
Wild mushrooms get slightly different treatment. I've found that these keep better in a paper bag in the refrigerator's crisper drawer. The paper allows for better airflow while the crisper drawer keeps the air slightly humid and prevents the mushrooms from drying out. They'll start to get a little shriveled by the end of the week, but are still good for cooking.
Do you use these methods for storing mushrooms or have you found another method that works for you?
Related: Quick Tip: How to Clean Morel Mushrooms
(Image: Emma Christensen)
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I do exactly the same. If I am buying them from the farmers market-they stay in the brown paper bag I bought them in but I do usually just place them on a shelf on my fridge. If they are the shrink wrapped ones from the grocery store, they also just stay in their original package. I've never had a mushroom go bad on me this way but then again, we have never had a problem going through these things in our house.
I do the same with packaged mushrooms, but am glad to know that it's the right thing to do! And thanks for the tip about the wild mushrooms. Any suggestions for cleaning mushrooms? I never know if a good brush-off really works on ones that are visibly dirty, or if packaged ones even need to be cleaned at all?
Paper bags are great, those $1 store lunch bags. I use them for all my veggies. Haven't had many spoil since I've done that. Just be sure to write (or let the whippersnappers draw the veggie picture) on the bag or they become mystery bags you have to keep opening.
Same here with prepacked ones. Although sometimes I use Judith Jones' glass jar method (http://www.thekitchn.com/kitchen-tour-ju-158276) with great results. And *always* check the packing date before buying! Old mushrooms will go bad in a couple of days no matter how you store them.
For the prepackaged shrooms, I leave them in their little cardboard container but I actually remove the plastic wrap so they can breathe a bit. Seems to work for me... in the past when I left them wrapped they seemed to go slimy much more quickly.
I dry brush them and store my mushrooms in brown paper bags in the fridge. They may dry out, but won't go slimy and are easy to reconstitute like any other dried mushroom.
We bundle our mushrooms loosely in a thin cotton tea towel! They don't seem to get too dry, and definitely not slimy.
I still don't understand the Judith Jones Glass Jar method of storing the mushrooms? Is the Lid loose? Is there a hole in it? Does anyone know???
Also, I'm buying enoki mushrooms.---Does anyone know how long you can keep them. I've had some in the fridge in their original plastic wrap for a month and they still look okay. Seems odd......but, how do you know when they've gone bad?
I've always worried that the store packaging wasn't good for them. Glad to know that it is!
On a similar topic, does anybody know if it's possible to grow mushrooms without an expensive setup?
This summer I ran into having too many mushrooms coming at me via my csa. I tossed them in the freezer in paper bags, where they dried *perfectly*.
I've been doing this with mushrooms since.
In terms of washing them, Alton Brown did a mythbusters episode of good eats and dispelled the myth that washing mushrooms makes them waterlogged and rubbery. He actually weighed the mushrooms before and after washing them in water and showed that they absorbed very little of the water. So, as long as you dry them thoroughly I think it's okay to clean them under running water as you would other vegetables. I've never had a problem with it myself. Sometimes if I don't feel like drying them I'll just use a damp paper towel to wipe them off, depending on how dirty they seem.
I've been using Judith's method (I think) for a while with great results. I used some mushrooms recently that I had had for over two weeks and they looked great. The lid isn't loose, there is no air flow, but they stay fresh for some reason.
So do you just put them in a glass jar with the lid on and keep them in the fridge? Why not tupperware
Like Emma, if the mushrooms are already packaged I keep them that way. For wild mushrooms we've picked or bulk from the store we put them in unglazed terracotta containers and store it in the fridge.
I have a large Romertopf for the mushrooming season when we come home with pounds of mushrooms and a smaller crock for winter months. I picked this up when I noticed that some grocers keep their mushrooms on unglazed clay saucers (the kind used under flowerpots) and they're always in great condition. The terracotta seems to absorb and whisk away any unnecessary moisture but you can also wet the clay down if the mushrooms start to dry out. The mushrooms are good for a few weeks this way.
Great to know that it's ok to leave them in the original container. BABYGIRLBANISTER - these guys sell mushroom logs at our farmers market and I believe they do ship. http://www.facebook.com/2funguys
I use Tupperware's FridgeSmart containers for mushrooms and some of my other produce. (I once kept a bunch of cilantro for 3 weeks before it went brown and gross in one of the small containers.)