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Rehydrated Porcini Mushrooms-Bitter aftertaste

post #1 of 7
8/25/05 at 2:49am
Thread Starter 
I have some dried Porcini mushrooms, and have used them recently in a dish I made. In rehydrating them, and using just plain tap water brought to a boil, and added to the dried mushrooms, gave a bitter after taste when made into a gravy. I added cream as a thickener, later, but initially used water and corn starch as a thickener. Is this supposed to have the sharp aftertaste? I added a bit of chix stock, with coarse kosher salt previous to that. It still seemed to give off that bitterness. I'm not quite sure what to expect the next time I plan to use them. Any suggestions? I would really love to know how to get rid of that, but still maintain the wonderful aroma's and deep flavors from these mushrooms.

Thanks,

Jeff
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post #2 of 7
8/25/05 at 9:00am

porcini

I was taught by my husband to reconstitute then in warm broth not water and not boiling. They have a strong taste and can be a bit bitter but not so much that the dish is flawed. Did you use the liquid? you can and should but strain through a paper coffee filter if there is a lot of grit. I am not sure what went wrong. Try again with a small amount and see. If you can get fresh, they that the taste is 100% different.
Super Casalinga
http://gia-gina.blogspot.com
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post #3 of 7
8/25/05 at 4:05pm
If there was a lot of mushroom "dust" that can cause a bitter after taste. I always rehydrate my dried porcini with tap water (usually filtered with a Britta filter) boiled in an electric tea kettle. Never had any trouble with it.

Jock
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post #4 of 7
8/26/05 at 12:59pm
wash off the shrooms under running water first, then soak. throw away the soaking liquid. the bitterness is either growing medium dust thats still clinging, or older bruised fruit thats oxidized some even before it was dried. or a combination.
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post #5 of 7
8/27/05 at 10:29pm
I wash the mushrooms before and after rehydrating them, I have never had a bitter taste with mine.Also you may want to try a different batch. :)
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post #6 of 7
9/12/05 at 5:29pm

Water

Your water might be the problem. Follow jock's advice and use filtered/Britta water at every stage. A little (stress little) madeira also adds a bit of richness.
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post #7 of 7
9/13/05 at 6:43am
A big part of the problem might be porcini mushrooms themselves. Look for mushrooms that are lighter in colour. The problem is that when the mushrooms are processed by big industrial companys, they are heated to dry them out faster, and in a lot of cases they end up being slightly burnt.

Secondly, don't listen to these guys saying about using hot water for reconstituting your porcinis. Always use cold water, and let them sit in the fridge over-night. This will help to reduce bitterness as well.
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