My experiences with mushroom-drying so far....
So, there are, apparently, a few things which make this easier. Of course these are only my experiences and there are many factors to consider. Other people may have other results, so this is not the ultimate wisdom on the subject.
Also, I’m sun-drying only. Oven-drying or drying over a steam device may yield other results. I’ve tried oven-drying once and decided that it needs wayyyy too much energy. Basically in order to get a crisp, dry, hard mushroom you have to leave the oven on low temperature for at least 8 hours, and even then you’re more likely to just get roast mushroom or just a soft, slimy, smelly cap.
Anyway, so here’s what I’ve come to:
1. Take only fresh mushrooms. This is important. Pluck them right out of the earth. Whether you take just the cap or the whole fruit body is not important, both work, but they have to be fresh. Picture #1 top left are three that were already fallen or close to falling. While one of them dried up partially, two others just rottet and turned slimy and VERY smelly.
2. Take youngish specimen. The older, the more likely that they’re already rotting on the inside, and that there will be fly eggs. That’s not to say the young ones don’t have fly eggs but at least not so many. Take the ones that aren’t baby stadium anymore (i.e. egg- or ball-shaped) but whose cap has already started to unfold and is vertical, or very slightly curving downwards like a bell (this is important as due to the heat during drying, they will continue to “grow” a little and a bell-shaped shroom will straighten out its cap).
3. Don’t take too big (large) ones. Picture #2 top right, the parasol was medium size and still rather young, it dried nicely. Picture #3 the huge parasol just got stinky and had to be thrown out.
4. Fly agarics and russulae seem to work best. Russulae dry to a really hard surface, almost like old leather. Fly agarics turn an amazing shade of golden red.
5. The caps will shrink and wrinkle and split and curve in on themselves. This is normal. I haven’t yet found a way to prevent it and I’m not sure there is one.
6. Re: Sun-drying. The sills of old double-windows work best. If you can, choose a south-facing side (this applies to Northern Europe, apparently. Places like Arizona or Florida, I envy you!). Alternatively, an old fish tank or something like that would work, too. Advantage of double-windows is that there’s still enough air - and you’ll need air. Don’t put the shrooms in a closed container. If you use a fish tank or whatever other glass container, leave it open/don’t use the lid, but place a kitchen towel or a baking sheet on top and secure with a rubber band or a bit of duct tape. What also works is the rear window of your car. If you don’t have a lot of shrooms and it’s really really warm, just put them into a small container and place at the back of your car (and park it in the sun). The two in picture #2 were dried like this - basically baked in the sun. Only do this with very fresh examples, right away, and when the sun is strong enough - otherwise you might end up with a smelly car and a horde of flies...
7. For the first day and night, I put them onto a layer of thick paper towels. This sucks up all the remaining fluids. Also, be aware that you’ll have lots of crawlers coming out from all the hidden nooks and crannies of the shroom. Mainly tiny worms/larvae, but also small bugs and flies. If they’re still alive the next time you check, can just throw them outside with the paper towel. If not, flush the whole thing down the toilet. Needless to say that because of the crawlers, your container should be as far away as possible from children/pets and from the area you frequent most (living room etc). Usually the crawlers don’t get very far, but sometimes depending on the temperature they’re fast - especially fly eggs can hatch within a day.
8. After one day and night, I replace the paper towels with a baking sheet, glossy side up. You can also put this in a cardboard box and put the shrooms into this.
9. Check regularly. If anything smells funny, rots, or oozes fluid, throw it away.
10. Be aware that there’s only a very limited time window for this. Where I live, October is usually wet and cold, so that’s not the best of conditions. Even if it’s sunny, the sun is usually not as warm anymore as during her high-time in summer. Hence the glass container/windows, because glass enhances the sunrays. The ones in the picture have been drying in the sun for 2 days and would still need another day or so, but today is wet and cold...
If anyone has anything to add, please feel free.
Also, please note, I’m drying these to use as a decoration in a diorama, not for smoking or eating or injecting them or making tea or whatever...
