|
Some of these posts are very old and might contain outdated information. You may wish to search for newer posts instead.
|
BoominDrew
Stranger
Registered: 06/10/06
Posts: 4
Last seen: 17 years, 6 months
|
question about saving/drying mushrooms
#5766578 - 06/19/06 01:54 AM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
hi, i am new to growing shrooms and to shroomery. my first grow went pretty well but now i have to store them. i have been reading many difrent ways to grow shrooms and im a little confused. i have a pottery jar that has a sel tight latch on it. will this alone work? or should i add something like freon? please help me out thanks-drew
|
sa_mull
Seeker ofKnowledge


Registered: 05/24/06
Posts: 144
Loc: IO
Last seen: 6 years, 3 days
|
Re: question about saving/drying mushrooms [Re: BoominDrew]
#5767097 - 06/19/06 07:51 AM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
As far as i know, i haven't heard anything about freon. again i'm a noob. but there are ways i know like, keeping in a paper bag and store in the fridge, will save it.. as for drying u can put them in front of a fan and dry them.. there is also a powder u can get to suck moisture out of the air, but i can't remember what it is called. sorry
|
MLBjammer
Invitro Freak


Registered: 02/24/06
Posts: 560
Loc: Southeastern USA
Last seen: 7 years, 14 days
|
Re: question about saving/drying mushrooms [Re: sa_mull]
#5767171 - 06/19/06 08:13 AM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
The best way is to buy a food dehydrator and disconnect the heating element (24 hours to dry); alternately, you can dry them with a fan for a couple days, then place them in a desiccant chamber (Damprid, silica gels) for another couple of days. Reagrdless, you want them cracker dry. They are fruits and will rot otherwise. A paper bag in a fridge will keep them for a few days (if you want them fresh). GL.
|
dreadful
Lush


Registered: 05/27/06
Posts: 24
Loc: SF bay area
Last seen: 17 years, 4 months
|
Re: question about saving/drying mushrooms [Re: MLBjammer]
#5767427 - 06/19/06 09:52 AM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
I am also still starting out, but I have now preserved a fair amount of mushrooms and think I have that pretty well figured out.
I think the easiest thing to do is to put the fresh mushrooms in a colander immediately after picking them, put that in a laundry basket, and lay a box fan over the top. See below:

 None of these items are exotic, so walmart can hook you up for like $20 total. Leave in there with the fan on for a few days, and they will get pretty dry. Ideally you want them to be "cracker" dry, which means they snap rather than flex when you bend them.
After I get them as dry as I can with the fan, what I do is put them in small jars (empty tylenol bottles or whatever is handy) with some silica gel packets and throw that in the freezer. Silica gel packets are cheap (just google for them, I got a sampler pack of 20 for about $6 with free shipping). Preserved so, I would expect them to stay potent in the freezer for months to years.
-------------------- It's a grim kind of celebration, a dance on razor's edge ... -- Scott O. Moore
|
BoominDrew
Stranger
Registered: 06/10/06
Posts: 4
Last seen: 17 years, 6 months
|
Re: question about saving/drying mushrooms [Re: dreadful]
#5773384 - 06/20/06 06:03 PM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
thanks dreadful, sounds like a good idea. but are the silica gel packets necessary?
|
liamtheloser
Advanced Idiot

Registered: 06/07/06
Posts: 1,453
|
Re: question about saving/drying mushrooms [Re: BoominDrew]
#5773608 - 06/20/06 06:54 PM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
the silica is neccessary if you live in humid area and can't get them cracker dry with a fan.
you can buy silica gel or something called "drierite" at walmart for very cheap... it's just desiccant.
--------------------
|
Omnicracker
Crusted Trolltivator

Registered: 09/18/05
Posts: 1,421
Loc: Wal-Merica
|
Re: question about saving/drying mushrooms [Re: liamtheloser]
#5773687 - 06/20/06 07:08 PM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
you dont need to disconnect the heating element in a dehydrator. its been decided that the heat doesnt decrease potency, and speeds the drying process up quite a bit.
|
BoominDrew
Stranger
Registered: 06/10/06
Posts: 4
Last seen: 17 years, 6 months
|
Re: question about saving/drying mushrooms [Re: Omnicracker]
#5773727 - 06/20/06 07:16 PM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
well i live in a desert and our humidity is quit low. so i dont think i will need them.
|
dreadful
Lush


Registered: 05/27/06
Posts: 24
Loc: SF bay area
Last seen: 17 years, 4 months
|
Re: question about saving/drying mushrooms [Re: BoominDrew]
#5774497 - 06/20/06 10:36 PM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
Yeah, I wouldn't say the silica gel is really necessary.
It does get the inside of the bottles incredibly dry, though. The mushrooms in my bottles get completely bone dry and very staticy, like a shirt just out of the dryer.
-------------------- It's a grim kind of celebration, a dance on razor's edge ... -- Scott O. Moore
|
fastfred
Old Hand



Registered: 05/17/04
Posts: 6,899
Loc: Dark side of the moon
|
Re: question about saving/drying mushrooms [Re: BoominDrew]
#5774508 - 06/20/06 10:38 PM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
|
|
> its been decided that the heat doesnt decrease potency
You can decide whatever you want, but it doesn't change the laws of physics and chemistry. Check out the Arrhenius equation. The heat will dry them faster but for every 10C your rate of reaction (decomposition of actives) is going to double. If they dry twice as fast, but you've tripled the rate of reaction then you're losing potency.
-FF
|
|