How to Reconstitute Dried Porcini Mushrooms

Fresh porcini mushrooms do not have the same long shelf life of dried porcini.

Exotic porcini mushrooms do not last long in storage in a fresh state, but dried, they can be kept almost indefinitely in a cool, dry pantry. Drying concentrates the flavor of porcini mushrooms, which have a richer flavor than common button mushrooms. You will not need the same volume measure of dried mushrooms as fresh. Replace each pound or 6 cups of fresh mushroom with 3 oz of dried porcini mushrooms, according to The Cook's Thesaurus.

Things You'll Need

• Dried porchini mushrooms
• Kitchen scale
• Warm water

Instructions

1. Measure out the amount of dried porcini mushrooms needed for your recipe on a kitchen scale. Replace each cup of fresh porcini in your recipes with ½ oz. of dried mushrooms.

2. Pour warm water over the dried porcini mushrooms.

3. Soak the mushrooms for 20 to 30 minutes or until they expand in size.

4. Drain the soaking broth off of the reconstituted porcini mushrooms and save this mushroom broth for flavoring soups and sauces.

5. Use your reconstituted porcini mushrooms as you would fresh in any recipe requiring these Italian mushrooms.

References

• The Cooks Thesaurus: Mushrooms
• Style Gourmet: Dried Mushrooms
• ChowHound: Add Depth With Dried Porcini

Resources

• Harvest Moon Mushrooms: Porcini Recipes