By Becky Streeter
As the weather cools, many of us think about storing things up for the winter. This often includes having a healthy stock of food in the pantry, just in case there is bad weather and we don’t want to drive or we have too many activities and can’t get to the store for fresh foods. Fun Guy Farms in Eau Claire, Wi sells a variety of dehydrated and freeze-dried mushrooms that keep for months without sacrificing on flavor.
For dehydrated mushrooms, they currently offer oyster and lion’s mane in whole or powdered form. The mushrooms are first grown fresh at Fun Guy Farms, and then put into a large commercial dehydrator that circulates warm air at a low temperature in order to dry them. According to Scholtz, owner of Fun Guy Farms, dehydrating mushrooms concentrates and intensifies the flavors of many mushrooms. The dehydrating process is simple, keeping them fairly inexpensive for the customer, and while dehydrated mushrooms rehydrate nicely, Scholtz says, “they do have a little more texture than fresh.” Which is why Fun Guy Farms also provides freeze-dried options.
For freeze-dried mushrooms, Fun Guy Farms has pink and golden oyster. “When freeze-dried mushrooms are rehydrated and cooked, they are almost indistinguishable from fresh,” says Scholtz. The mushrooms are again grown fresh at the facility, then, “as the name suggests, freeze-drying freezes them before using vacuum/negative pressure to remove the moisture at extremely low temperatures.” This prevents shriveling and also preserves the aesthetics of colorful varieties such as the pink and golden oyster mushrooms. The freeze-drying process is more involved than dehydrating, so the price point is a little higher for the better quality.
“Dehydrated and freeze-dried mushrooms can be added ‘as is’ to soups and stews and other dishes containing liquids as they will rehydrate during the cooking process,” says Scholtz. “For sautéing, they can be rehydrated by soaking them in room temperature water, or for more flavor, a water-based marinade or even beer can be used.” Dehydrating and freeze-drying mushrooms preserves the nutrients and medicinal properties while making the mushrooms shelf stable. They can last for many months without going bad. Scholtz says, “I have used two-year-old dehydrated mushrooms in soups and stews in the past.”
You can purchase dehydrated and freeze-dried mushrooms at Fun Guy Farms off Western Avenue in Eau Claire, and they can even accommodate special orders of large quantities upon request. Additionally, Fun Guy Farms continues to offer a great selection of fresh mushrooms including King Trumpet and Enoki, and shiitake mushrooms should be ready by February.
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