Homemade mushroom spread: Savor forest flavours all winter

Mushroom spread appears annually in my pantry. Once I have enough marinated mushrooms, and the sauces and soups become repetitive, I quickly mix a few ingredients, transfer the ready spread into jars, and pasteurize it. Thanks to this, in winter, I can treat guests to a delicacy that leaves them amazed. My husband’s friend, a forester by profession and passion, always requests a jar or two.

Mushroom spread should be pasteurized thrice every 24 hours for three consecutive days. This process decreases the chance that the mushrooms will spoil. Unfortunately, forest produce can be unpredictable and often spoils in jars. The threefold pasteurization process, called Tyndallization, kills all microorganisms in the jars, even in spore form.

Three-time pasteurization may seem tedious and might deter you from making mushroom spread in jars, but pasteurization doesn’t have to involve only the traditional method in pots. A known method is pasteurization in the oven (and even in a dishwasher, though for tyndallization, we recommend the first or second method). Pasteurizing jars in the oven saves a lot of time, and the task itself is limited to turning on the oven and placing the tray with the jars inside.

Ingredients:

                    
• 6.6 lbs of porcini mushrooms
• 3 carrots
• 2 onions
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1.5 cups of broth
• 1 cup of dry white wine
• 2 teaspoons of tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon of hot paprika powder
• 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup of olive oil

Preparation:

1. Thoroughly clean the mushrooms, rinse them under running water, and cut them into pieces.
2. Peel the carrots, cut them into slices, and slice the onion into half-moons.
3. Transfer the mushrooms and vegetables to a pot and cover with broth. Begin to heat the mixture. After a moment, add the wine and cook on low heat for 45 minutes.
4. After this time, set aside to cool. Once cooled, blend the ingredients into a smooth mass.
5. Add olive oil to the mixture and bring it to a boil again. Cook for about 15 minutes.
6. Add tomato paste, sweet, and hot paprika to the mixture. Continue cooking to let some water evaporate, and the mixture become thick.
7. Add salt and pepper to the thick paste, then transfer it to sterilized jars.
8. Screw the jars tightly and place them on a baking tray so they do not touch each other.
9. Place the tray in an oven preheated to 266°F (if the mushroom spread is cold, start pasteurizing from a cold oven, and count the pasteurization time from when the oven reaches the set temperature).
10. Pasteurize the jars for 30 minutes. Then turn off the oven and leave the jars inside to cool completely.
11. On the second day, after 24 hours, pasteurize the jars again, this time for 20 minutes, and allow them to cool in the oven; on the third day, do the same thing.
12. Once the third pasteurization is complete, store the jars in a cool, dark pantry.