rehydrating dried mushrooms

[hfaze]

forgive a newbie question but,

i bought a few packs of dried mushrooms at d&d and i'm unsure as to the best way to bring them back to life. the package says to soak them in water or white wine. soaking them in wine and then sautéing them in butter doesn't seem bad, but is this a good approach?

[Wilfrid]

Yes. But water would do. Don't forget the salt and pepper.

[Fat Guy]

Half an hour in warm water (tending towards hot) does the trick. Depending on the dish, the mushroom water, strained and reduced, can be a useful ingredient.

[hfaze]

thanks for the help!

[tommy]

reserving the liquid is key if you want to make any kind of mushroom sauce. it can get quite flavorful. in fact, when i'm making mushroom sauces, i'll use fresh mushrooms *and* dried, just so i have that concentrated flavor to add to the sauce.

hot water is key. wine is nice, so you don't have to add water to your sauce, but then you probably wouldn't heat the wine. i find that the benefits of the hot water outweigh the downside of adding water to your sauce.

[Varmint]

I've always been told that you don't want to use boiling hot water, as that creates a bitter taste. The same principle applies with dried tomatoes.

[Fat Guy]

Definitely not boiling. Hot from the tap is about right, though this temperature of course varies from kitchen to kitchen.

[tommy]

I've always been told that you don't want to use boiling hot water, as that creates a bitter taste.  The same principle applies with dried tomatoes.

what happens when they go in the boiling hot sauce?

[Varmint]

After their screams die down, not much.

[SobaAddict70]

Newbie questions are always welcomed, don'cha know....

SA