Thursday, April 15, 2010

Cooking with Dried Mushrooms

Many of us live a busy and hectic lifestyle and do not have enough time to devote hours to making a meal. With that being said, many of us that do not like prepared or boxed dinners are always looking for a quicker way to still make a home cooked meal. Along with pre-made salad mix and other fresh ingredients that can come already prepped and cleaned, mushrooms can be purchased dried. Dried mushrooms can be a great convenience when not wanting to spend a majority of the time cleaning and slicing fresh mushrooms. At oakhillmushrooms.com they have many different types of dried mushrooms. Ordering dried mushrooms online can save time and money instead of taking time out to go to the grocery store because they are delivered right to your home. Purchasing dried mushrooms this way is the ultimate in convenience ingredients.

There are many unique ways to use several different types of dried mushrooms in recipes. A wonderful and tasty way to use the dried candy cap mushrooms is to add them in an omelet for breakfast. The flavorful dried candy caps will add sweetness like maple syrup to many types of eggs dishes. Many enjoy using this type of mushroom because of its sweet flavor and aroma.

Using dried porcini mushrooms in a risotto will add an earthy element to the rich creamy taste of this classic Italian dish. Besides incorporating dried mushrooms into risotto, try putting them in your next batch of homemade spaghetti sauce. Using dried mushrooms in Italian dishes gives them a depth of flavor that without these amazing fungi would just be ordinary.

Hot and sour soup is a favorite dish among many that love Asian cuisine. By adding dried shiitake mushrooms in this spicy soup gives it richness in not only taste, but also in texture. Vegans leave out the pork and usually substitute more shiitake mushrooms in its place.

There are numerous ways to use dried mushrooms in dishes. Dried mushrooms can perk up many recipes and the convenience of using dried mushrooms saves time and work. Instead of spending time preparing food, dried mushrooms help cut the time in the kitchen and enable one to spend more time eating their delicious culinary creations.


Friday, April 9, 2010

Mushroom Powders

Almost all cooks have used mushrooms in a dish and enjoy the earthy flavor that they add. Mushrooms can be purchased fresh, dried and even in powder form. Yes, that is right they do come in a powder. Mushroom powder is a great alternative to use in many recipes when fresh or dried mushrooms are not available.

There are so many uses for these mushrooms powders that can enable the cook to use them in innovative ways. One unique way to use mushroom powder is to dredge fish, poultry or meat in it before frying instead of flour. This enhances the flavor of the protein giving a unique twist on an old standard in frying techniques with mushroom spices.

Many cooks find that making stocks can sometimes be time consuming when having to strain the stock through cheesecloth in order to get a more clarified type of stock. By not using dried mushrooms in a mushroom based stock, instead try using mushroom powders instead. This will not only save time from chopping and dicing dried mushrooms, it can cut back on the time from not having to straining the broth. The result will still be a flavorful and aromatic stock without all the fuss.

With many of us in a hurry, we do not have time to cook a meal from scratch and end up cooking pre-made foods. These foods can be boring and bland. Try adding a dash of mushroom powder to a frozen pizza or to canned soups. This will add a much needed depth of flavor that will have your taste buds dancing.

There are many different types of dried mushrooms for sale on oakhillmushrooms.com. The same can be said for the many mushroom spices that are for sale. They carry many of your favorite mushrooms from porcini to chanterelles in powder form. One of the advantages of using mushroom powders is that they have no additives such as salt for instance. Many watching their sodium intake find using mushroom powder on food instead of salt a great tasty alternative. The variety of mushroom spices that can be used in a dish is only limited by the imagination of the cook.