Detailed Explanation of Key Points of Oyster Mushroom Storage and Fresh-Keeping Techniques

Fresh oyster mushrooms have a high water content and tender, crisp tissue, making them extremely prone to damage. If stored improperly, they easily rot and deteriorate, causing losses to producers. Several storage methods for oyster mushrooms are introduced below:

1. Fresh storage: The storage time of fresh oyster mushrooms at room temperature is greatly affected by temperature and air humidity. When the room temperature is 3°C-5°C and the relative air humidity is around 80%, fresh mushrooms can be stored for one week. As temperature increases, humidity must also increase. When the quantity of mushrooms is small, the oyster mushrooms can be placed in a vat containing a small amount of cold water, and the vat opening sealed tightly; even if the temperature reaches 15°C-16°C, they can be kept fresh for about one week. The mushrooms can also be completely immersed in cold water, but the water must be clean and hygienic, and the iron content of the water should be less than 2 mg/L, so that the oyster mushrooms will not turn black.

2. Cold storage: Treat fresh oyster mushroom fruiting bodies in boiling water or steam for 4-8 minutes, place them in a 1% citric acid solution to cool rapidly, drain the water, divide them into portions and pack them in plastic bags, and place them in a cold storage facility; they can be kept fresh for 3-5 days.

3. Controlled atmosphere storage: After harvesting, fresh mushrooms continue to respire, taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. Appropriately reducing the oxygen concentration in the environment and increasing the carbon dioxide concentration can inhibit respiration and extend the fresh-keeping period. Oyster mushrooms can tolerate a 25% carbon dioxide concentration at low temperatures. In a controlled atmosphere room, to achieve the required gas indicators, there is a process of lowering oxygen and raising carbon dioxide; the shorter the oxygen-lowering period, the better, so that the stored mushroom bodies can leave the high-oxidation environment as quickly as possible and achieve the best controlled atmosphere effect.

4. Chemical storage: The chemicals that can be used to store oyster mushrooms mainly include 0.1% sodium metabisulfite, 0.6% sodium chloride, 4 mg/L triacontanol aqueous solution, 50 mg/L maleic hydrazide aqueous solution, 0.05% potassium permanganate aqueous solution, 0.1% oxalic acid, etc. The specific method is: first trim the fresh oyster mushrooms clean, soak them in the chemical solution for 1-5 minutes, remove and drain them, then divide them into portions and pack them into 0.03 mm thick polyethylene plastic bags, tie the bag openings tightly, and store them.