Own business: collecting and processing forest mushrooms

Agriculture Forestry

A business related to the collection and processing of mushrooms requires less investment than the organization of its own production of oyster mushrooms and champignons. However, his organization has certain limitations.

So, for example, in some Russian regions there are no forests and, accordingly, no mushrooms suitable for eating. In addition, this is a seasonal business, since even in the middle lane, mushrooms grow only from the beginning of summer until mid-autumn. Moreover, each species has its own fruiting period, called the "wave". Permission to collect forest mushrooms is easy to obtain from representatives of regional authorities. But most companies can easily do without it, buying mushrooms from local residents.

On the other hand, such a business is fraught with risks, since its success directly depends on weather conditions. For example, in a hot summer without rain, you should not count on a large crop. Large companies try to insure themselves against such cases (which are not uncommon in recent times) and organize their own purchasing points in various areas of our country, without focusing on a single region. The greatest demand is for porcini mushrooms (boletus), boletus, mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms, saffron mushrooms, honey mushrooms, chanterelles and mushrooms. Unlike cultivated mushrooms, forest mushrooms go on sale in processed form. For example, they are dried (including freeze-dried), marinated, salted, frozen, converted into mushroom powder, and mushroom extracts are made.

Some companies produce all types of mushroom products, and some specialize in one or two (most often pickled mushrooms and mushroom extracts). The most famous processing methods are salting and pickling. The salting process is based on the preservative effect of table salt. This method can be used to preserve all types of edible mushrooms, however, their nutritional value and taste may deteriorate under the influence of a preservative. Therefore, manufacturers prefer to subject salted mushrooms with initially lower taste qualities (breasts, earrings, oyster mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms).

There are two ways of salting - cold and hot. In the first case, the mushrooms are first cleaned and washed, then soaked in cold salted water for two to five days. At the same time, water is replaced from time to time to remove substances that distort the taste of the product. Then the mushrooms are salted, laying in layers in barrels, pouring each layer with salt with the addition of spices. The oppression is laid on top of the barrels. Within two to three days, the brine released from the mushrooms is drained, adding a new portion of mushrooms, until the mass finally ceases to settle. The hot method of salting is slightly different from the cold. Unless in this case, the mushrooms are washed, and then blanched (boiled) in salted water for 10-15 minutes. Their further processing is no different from processing with the cold method of salting.

Recently, mushrooms have been pickled more often than salted, as pickling based on the preservative effect of acetic acid takes much less time. To pickle mushrooms, you will need a kettle, where pre-cleaned and washed mushrooms are loaded, water, acetic acid, salt and spices are added. Glass containers (less often tin cans) are used as containers. The consumption of salt is about 5 kg, acetic acid of 80% concentration - about 500 grams, spices - about 50 grams per 100 kg of mushrooms. Like any other canned food, pickled mushrooms are sterilized.

Less commonly, industrial enterprises use this type of mushroom processing, such as drying. For this purpose, mainly tubular mushrooms are used. Freeze-drying is only cost-effective for large amounts of mushroom processing (more than 5-8 tons per day), as it requires special expensive equipment. Part of the mushrooms is subjected to freezing. To do this, they are first cleaned of impurities and the damaged parts are separated, blanched in and cooled to 4-5 ° C. Ideally, to achieve the best flavoring quality, a solution of citric acid should be used to cool the mushrooms. Mushrooms are frozen at a temperature of -30 ° C, and after 3 hours the temperature is gradually raised to -18 ° C. Note that this method, used to freeze whole mushrooms, is used less and less (and mainly for small mushrooms such as honey mushrooms).

Companies are trying to optimize their activities and reduce costs. Therefore, now mostly “substandard” mushrooms are subjected to freezing - mashed or broken. Mushroom powder or extract is made from the same substandard. In the first case, the mushrooms or parts thereof are dried to a solid state and ground. Then they go to cook various seasonings, convenience foods, dry soups, etc. Mushroom extract is used to fill soups and sauces. To prepare it, the mushrooms are crushed, boiled for half an hour and filtered, resulting in mushroom juice. To each liter of juice add 20 grams of salt. Then the solution is boiled until it thickens to the consistency of the syrup. The hot extract is bottled, corked and cooled.

However, one must take into account that not all edible mushrooms can be used for industrial processing. For example, one Russian company produced pickled mushrooms - rowing mushrooms (tricholas), which are sold at low prices and have good taste properties. However, the manufacturer did not know that these mushrooms “absorb” the sand on which they grow. It is impossible to get rid of it, and the company had to withdraw the product from production. Popular russules are also not used for industrial processing. This is due to the fact that these mushrooms are very fragile, have a large number of subspecies, many of which have a bitter taste, and they are easy to confuse with poisonous grebes.

Forest mushrooms, as many years ago, are purchased from the population. In the villages procurement points from different companies are located. The size of the purchase price is affected by both the type of fungus (its rarity and value), as well as productivity. Chanterelles are considered the most expensive in the purchase, an impressive part of which is exported to Europe (in addition, porcini mushrooms are in great demand in the Western market).

Primary processing of mushrooms is carried out at procurement points. The shelf life of fresh mushrooms does not exceed 24 hours, so they are cleaned of dirt and boiled. Between individual mushroom pickers and large processing companies there are intermediaries who work with several collection points at once.

The domestic Russian turnover of forest mushrooms is, according to experts, over $ 60 million. It is more difficult to estimate these volumes more accurately, since this market is not very orderly and opaque. Its annual growth is not more than 15%, but experts believe that the prospects for the development of the market are more than favorable. According to an approximate estimate of the market participants themselves, up to a third of the turnover is exported.

Sysoeva Lilia

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