How to use a household mushroom dryer to dry mushrooms of good quality and appearance?

Now, more and more shiitake mushroom professional households use household shiitake drying machines as a popular drying method. It is suitable for large and medium-sized or household processing. It is not restricted by the weather and environment, and it will not pollute the mushrooms like the earth kiln fire roasting. It saves energy and electricity than the electric roasting room. In general, the mushroom dryer is used to dry the mushrooms. The drying has good color and luster, is fresher, has high efficiency, less labor burden, energy saving and electricity saving, and good economic benefits.

The drying process of shiitake mushrooms plays a decisive role in the shape, color, and fragrance of shiitake mushrooms. The traditional drying process can no longer meet the needs of drying shiitake mushrooms. So, how to use a household shiitake dryer to dry shiitake mushrooms with good quality and good appearance?

The first stage: preheating. Place the fresh mushrooms with their caps down on the tray of the household mushroom dryer, and then put the tray on the trolley and wait for it to enter the dryer together. After the cart enters the inside of the dryer, lock the door of the dryer, and set the drying temperature curve. 90% and the bake time is set to 1 hour.

The second stage: remove most of the moisture. The upper limit of temperature is set to 50°C, the lower limit is 45°C; the upper limit of relative humidity is 65%, the lower limit is 45%; the time is set to 4 hours. After 4 hours of drying, the moisture content of shiitake mushrooms has dropped to 30%-40%.

The third stage: increase the temperature to further remove moisture. In the middle and late stages of drying, with the decrease of water content, it becomes more and more difficult for the water inside the mushroom to go out. Raising the temperature will help the water to be discharged. Remember not to use cold air to cool and reheat to increase the evaporation of water. Before the shiitake mushrooms are completely dry, the temperature difference should not fluctuate too much, and they can only go up, otherwise, the color will be affected. The temperature is set to the upper limit of 65°C and the lower limit of 60°C; the upper limit of the relative humidity is 45% and the lower limit is 35%; the time is set to 3 hours.

The four stage: Raise the temperature to dry the remaining moisture. In the later stage of drying, the mushrooms are basically dry, and there is not much water left, but it has not yet reached the requirements of the process. We will increase the temperature again, setting the upper limit of the temperature to 70°C and the lower limit to 65°C; the time is set to 2 Hours.

Note: After the mushroom drying operation is completed, it must be put into a plastic bag within 6 hours to prevent mold and deterioration due to dampness. Dried mushrooms that cannot be packaged in time should be packed in a large plastic bag and tightly tied. It is strictly forbidden to pack in easily breathable bags such as nylon woven bags or sacks. Packaged dried shiitake mushrooms should be stored in a dry room.