This is how you make them last

Where can you find the Krause mother hen?

The frilled mother hen (Sparassis crispa), also known as the fat hen, is one of the coral mushrooms, which bear their name for a reason: They have a special shape that is outstanding in the mushroom world on. The surface of the mushroom, which grows like a cauliflower, forms the surface of the mushroom, which grows like a cauliflower. The frilled mother hen must be firm and almost white when young, older specimens - recognizable by their dark brownish to brown color - should be left standing, they taste tough and bitter. Do not take the whole mushroom with you, just the clean, white parts and remove tough stems in the forest. You can usually find the aromatic edible mushroom directly at the foot of pine trees between July and October, and more rarely under other conifers.

Before drying: Thoroughly clean the Krause mother hen

Before drying, the frilled mother hen must well cleaned because not only sand, earth and pine needles, but also all kinds of animals such as beetles and snails are hidden in their coils. The easiest way to clean the fungus is to cut it into small pieces (no more than five millimeters thick to dry), dust them thoroughly with flour and rinse them in running water. This process is repeated until the mushroom is clean. However, you must then dry the mushroom pieces thoroughly, otherwise the drying process will take too long.

Dry the frilled mother hen properly - that's how it works

The washed and dried pieces of the frilled mother hen should never be strung on and left to dry in the air - the moisture will always mold and spoil them. It is better to dry the mushroom in the oven or in a dehydrator instead. The purchase of a dehydrator or drying oven is particularly worthwhile if you often want to dry mushrooms, but also fruit, vegetables and herbs yourself. However, drying in the oven is also quite simple, but takes a comparatively long time at around five hours. This is how you do it:

• Preheat the oven to a temperature between 50 and 70 ° C.
• Set "Air circulation".
• Place the prepared mushroom pieces on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
• Put this in the oven.
• Clamp a wooden spoon or similar between the oven door and the oven. ä.
• This allows escaping moisture to escape.

The mushrooms are sufficiently dried as soon as they can no longer be bent. Instead, they should break right away.