Love mushroom flavor but don’t like the texture? Want to find a way to add more umami without adding meat? Try making your own mushroom powder!
Umami – that ubiquitous flavor that no one can really pin down that is best described as a ‘meaty’ flavor. It’s prized in Japanese cooking, it was all the rage in the food world a year or two ago, and it STILL has a place in our food storage and everyday cooking. So how do you get it without necessarily using beef products? Mushroom powder, that’s how! And I’m going to show you how to do it yourself!
DIY Mushroom Powder
The mushroom powder is simply mushrooms that have been dehydrated and then ground. Because you’re already dehydrating mushrooms for your food storage (aren’t you?), the powder is a simple step away.
How to Make Mushroom Powder in 5 Easy Steps
1. Fill your blender or food processor with dehydrated mushrooms.
2. Process the dehydrated mushrooms on blend until you have come up with a fine powder.
3. Pour powder through a fine, mesh strainer into a funnel in your storage container. (I am really loving these Foodsaver Canisters for things I want to keep vacuum sealed but use every day!)
4. Reprocess any bits that didn’t grind down well enough and repeat step #3.
5. Store in an airtight container in low light.
**Note: this powder is a fine powder, so be careful when removing your blender top, else you might get a face full (or lung full) of mushroom powder. You can see remnants on my blender photos from me opening it the first time to check. I think I might have been able to grow mushrooms in my lungs for a few days!
How to Use Mushroom Powder
My youngest child has texture issues with food and loves the flavor of mushrooms, but isn’t fond of eating them. Using mushroom powder in our food has been a great way to incorporate the boldness of mushroom flavor + their nutritional value without adding the chunky bits he doesn’t like very much.
- Put a tablespoon into your favorite omelet recipe.
- Use to help bring more flavor to soups and stews without adding texture or meat products.
- Sprinkle across a salad for an extra ‘wow’ factor.
- Mix into meatloaf or burger patties to add an extra depth of flavor without necessarily adding bulk or texture.
- Sprinkle in pasta sauces for added depth of flavor.
Be sure not to add your mushroom powder early in the cooking process if you are doing long, slow-cooking dishes. You’ll want to add the powder later. And while some purists think that the trendier, higher-priced varieties of mushrooms are better (and their flavor will be more intense), everyday crimini (those little brown ones that look like button mushrooms) work well, too!
Normally, I grab a big sale at a local grocer when I can get these on sale at my rock bottom prices, and I buy a few flats of them.
I spend the next few days dehydrating away, and save about 1/2 for dried mushrooms, then powder the rest. In the photo, there are 6 pints containers of crimini mushrooms (what fills my Excalibur dehydrator – give or take a tray), and it blends down into what you see in photo #2, which is just over 1/2 quart.
But that powder lasts a LOOONG time because you don’t use huge amounts of it.
How to Store Mushroom Powder
While I still need to do a full video on how to dehydrate and powder mushrooms, I did my first video on how to store mushroom powder – or at least how I do it. I used to just put it in airtight jars and let that be that. I’ve had to change my ways…and here’s how I do it!
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So give it a try and let me know what you think!
Supplies you might need:
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Mike is a preparedness enthusiast, adventurer, and sports fanatic. He followed in his family’s footsteps and undertook training and education in disaster survival, home preparedness, and personal safety. When he is not out on his next adventure, Mike offers our readers a glimpse into how and what it means to live a prepared life.
Last update on 2023-05-31 at 16:30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
I do this with a lot of wild mushrooms. If they’re a little old, which means they may get “wormy”, the heat from dehydrating drives them out, then once they’re crispy-dry, I let them cool down, then powder them. Some mushrooms just don’t rehydrate well.
Yep, I couldn’t agree more! This happens all the time with my mushrooms too. It really depends on their type and age.