Mushrooms are one of the favorite Lenten foods in northern latitudes. The problem is that Great Lent is not the right season for fresh mushrooms; therefore, mushrooms must be preserved from the previous season. (Although, nowadays, one can easily grow fresh mushrooms year-round at home in so-called monotubs with controlled conditions.) Drying is one way to preserve them. Vacuum-sealing and freezing is another way. But for some, one of the most delicious ways is salting.
Almost all mushrooms can be salted, but traditionally, there are some favorites - usually, the types of mushrooms that can only be harvested in the wild. Some mushrooms digest organic matter, such as wood, and can be grown at home on sawdust or similar material. Other mushrooms are mycorrhizal, which means they form a beneficial symbiotic relationship with living trees and will not grow on dead material. Milk-caps or lactaria are my favorite mushrooms to salt and preserve for the winter and even into Lent.
Rinse freshly-harvested mushrooms in order to remove dirt, place in a glass jar with a wide mouth in layers, and sprinkle some salt on each layer. Use a clean plastic bag filled with water to weigh the mushrooms down. As you continue to harvest, you can keep adding to the same jar. The mushrooms will give their own juice, and the weight will keep them submerged under this liquid. The amount of salt can be a little more than what you would use for sauerkraut. You may also add black peppercorns , onions, garlic, or other things, but I usually do not bother at this stage.
Keep the jar in the refrigerator. Once it is full, the mushrooms will be ready to eat in two weeks, but will keep in the refrigerator for much longer. This week, I am eating mushrooms that I harvested and salted last summer.
When you are ready to eat your mushrooms, pull some from the jar and rinse with water (if you used too much salt, you may need to soak them in water for a while in order to remove the excess salt). At this point, I like to add chopped onion and olive oil. Salted mushrooms can also be fried or added to soups.
Very important: If you do not know how to identify mushrooms, avoid harvesting in the wild and purchase them from a trusted supplier. Although very few mushrooms are deadly, not a small number can cause severe gastro-intestinal problems. When in doubt, do not eat it. (There is always tofu.)
For those in the ADK, I may recommend AHA Mushrooms - a supplier I trust. (No, I do not have any financial or business associations with this company; and I wild-harvest or grow all of the mushrooms I eat. But if I were to buy, I would buy from this supplier.)
Assorted salted milk-caps with onions and olive oil.
Vacuum-sealed and frozen, mushrooms can last a considerable amount of time.
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