A Coffee Maker Is Key To Rehydrating Dried Mushrooms

Dehydrated mushrooms are a wonderful ingredient to cook with. They offer intense, concentrated mushroom flavor to anything you put them in. It's getting them to rehydrate that can be a drag. Simply put, they float, they bob, they do everything but stay under the water — which is where you want them. To battle this, we get creative by forcing them down with a plate, a glass, a flowerpot, or really anything that will do the job. But, as it turns out, there's a hack for that.

The secret lies in a French press coffee pot. The vessel is designed to hold hot liquid and includes a built-in plunger that works beautifully for keeping those dried mushrooms under water. No more fumbling with paperweights or worrying about uneven rehydration. By using a French press, you can walk away and forget the shrooms until you need them. It's just like making coffee. While you might not want to drink the liquid left behind, it holds a ton of mushroom flavor. Why not incorporate it into your meal?

To complete this method, place your dried mushrooms into the carafe of a French press coffee maker and pour a good amount of hot water over them. As expected, they'll float to the top. Place the lid on the pot and gently press down so that the mushrooms are fully submerged. You don't need to push them all the way to the bottom yet, as you want them to absorb plenty of liquid to fully rehydrate. Typically, recipes and instructions on bags of dried mushrooms will tell you to let them soak for anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes (depending on the type of mushroom you have).

When they're done, push the French press plunger all the way down to the bottom and pour the soaking liquid out. Set the liquid aside if you plan to use it. You could incorporate it into mushroom risotto, beef stew, or ramen broth, to name a few examples. The mushrooms at the bottom of the pot should be drained, plump, and ready to use.

We've all heard that fresh ingredients are always better.  While this may be true for things like fruits, vegetables, and sushi fish, many agree that the flavor of dried mushrooms trumps their fresh counterparts in a big way. It's also often easier to find rare mushrooms (like morels, chanterelles, and porcinis) in a dried state than fresh. And once they are rehydrated, they can be used exactly like fresh mushrooms. In addition, a package of dried mushrooms is basically timeless; they will keep indefinitely when stored properly in a cool, dry pantry or freezer. You can't say that about your package of fresh creminis.

Imagine your mushroom omelet with a few maitakes thrown in for good measure, or your wood-fired pizza topped with sautéed chanterelles. Rehydrated mushrooms can be used in pasta dishes, stir-frys, pot roasts, and roasted meats. You can coat them in an Asian-flavored batter and fry them until they're nice and crispy. You could also sauté a mushroom mix and flavor them with minced garlic, white wine, thyme, and a little cream. These would be delicious over grilled sourdough toast, as a side dish, or spooned over a perfectly grilled steak. Anything you want to add an umami punch to will benefit from rehydrated mushrooms — so keep the French press handy.