Methods for the Prevention and Control of Edible Mushroom Diseases and a New Rapid Drying Technology

The new rapid drying method for edible mushrooms takes only 15 minutes to turn fresh edible mushrooms into dried products, with no loss or change whatsoever in the nutrition and flavor of the edible mushrooms. It is worth adopting by the edible mushroom processing industry.

The new rapid drying method is carried out using a high-pressure room-temperature drying system. Fresh edible mushrooms are placed in a sealed dryer, and a high-pressure dry air stream is immediately fed in, with the air made to circulate and flow within the dryer. Because of the flow of the gas, the moisture in the fresh edible mushrooms quickly permeates into the air stream. After 5 minutes, the high-pressure air stream is suddenly and rapidly released, and the moisture is discharged into the air along with the air stream. By repeating this 2 to 3 times, 98% of the moisture in the fresh edible mushrooms can be removed, completing the drying of the mushroom bodies.

Dried edible mushroom products made by this method, sealed and stored in plastic bags, will not become moldy within 2 or 3 years. The dried products have a strong rehydration capacity and can quickly soften after being boiled in boiling water for 3 or 4 minutes. They can be eaten after cooking with various appropriate seasonings. This method can overcome the shortcoming of the previous high-heat drying method, in which the nutrients in fresh mushrooms are easily damaged because of the high temperature and long duration. (Hu Xianjun)