Dried Mushroom Crisps

When I was 11, I didn't want clothes or Barbies or video games for Christmas; I wanted a food dehydrator. Weird, right? I blame it on the fact that A) I played waayyy too much "Oregon Trail" at school, B) Kirsten, the Swedish pioneer girl, was my favorite American Girls character (now discontinued...*crying*), and C) I was home sick a lot that year and developed quite an obsession for "Little House on the Prairie" reruns. I believe that those three things led me to my fascination with the American Frontier period. This meant that A) I would never be popular crowd material, and B) although I enjoyed reading fictional and nonfictional accounts of that time period, I wanted to understand the experience. I wanted to eat what they ate; hence the food dehydrator.

Humans have used drying as a food preservation method since the dawn of time, but drying was especially important to the Pioneers who set out across the country on wagon trains. Dried food was lightweight and compact, leaving more room in their wagons for other necessary supplies, like guns and whiskey. 


mushrooms on drying rack

Back to the early 90's. Along with my food dehydrator, my mom bought me a book called "How to Dry Foods" by Deanna DeLong, which I have since learned is practically the Bible of food drying manuals. Ms. DeLong offers a comprehensive guide on prep procedures and drying times for dozens of fruits and vegetables, as well as guides for making meat and fish jerky, fruit leathers, and many other helpful recipes, tips, and ideas. I tried many of them, and even at age 11, I wanted to try to do things my way (hint - orange segments do not dehydrate well).

Of all the foods I dried, sliced mushrooms produced my favorite result by far. Crisp and earthy, these babies always satisfied my crunch cravings. Because I dry my mushrooms in order to use them as snacks, my process is a bit different than that of the Italians and Chinese, who dry mushrooms simply so that they are available for use in recipes when fresh mushrooms are not in season. Imagine that - what my ancestors did out of necessity, I now do simply because I want a tasty snack! You don't even need a food dehydrator; you can do this in your oven as well. Not only is this snack delicious, it's great for all you New Year's Resolution dieters who are looking to replace your artificially flavored, partially hydrogenated, genetically engineered, deep-fried corn and potato crisps. Give this snack a shot! 

* Food dehydrators are available for purchase at many major department stores and housewares stores; they can also be purchased online.

Dried Mushroom Crisps

2 c. boiling water
1 T. mild vinegar
2 t. salt
2 t. seasoning blend of your choice
1 pound button mushrooms, sliced 1/4" thick

Combine everything but the mushrooms in a mixing bowl, and blend until the salt has dissolved. Add the mushrooms. Give them a few stirs so that each of the slices are submerged momentarily. The mushrooms will float, so give them a few stirs every 10 minutes or so, and let marinate for one hour. 

Once the mushrooms have marinated, drain them from the brine and follow the drying method of your choice.

Food Dehydrator Method:
Place the mushrooms on the racks of a food dehydrator with all air vents fully open. Dry for 36-48 hours, or until they are crisp and no moisture remains. 

Oven Method:
Preheat the oven to 190. In the meantime, prepare the mushrooms. The mushrooms will fall through a standard oven rack, so pierce a sheet of foil every half-inch or so and place the tinfoil on a rack. Arrange the mushrooms on the tinfoiled rack and place in the oven. Leave the oven door ajar (you can keep it lodged open with a wooden spoon) and bake for 6-8 hours, or until the mushrooms have dried. 

These are delicious alone, but you can also dip them in traditional chip and veggie dips!