# Air drying morels?



## Hunt4shrooms (Apr 21, 2021)

On old door screen in a dry basement ( low humidity)fan under/over...(started dehydrate process on Sunday
Question is I hear folks say they need to be dry like a cracker( some of the small ones are already the size of my pinky and still not that dry) I knew they would shrink but I'm scared I may be destroying them b/c of there shrinkage percentage?







this was start size and I'll take a " now" picture when I get home...
They look pretty sad now but alot of what I read is rehydrated there still good?( Can't imagine what or how long would bring them back to full size?) I know soaking them but man there sad looking now...


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## shroomsearcher (Apr 7, 2018)

Morels dry and reconstitute just fine. The fresh morels you started with were probably 85-90% water! When dried you want them like fresh potato chips. Put them in some water or milk to reconstitute. Have you ever had one of those sponges that starts out like a little wafer and expands to normal size once you put it in water. That's what morels will do. And drying can concentrate their flavor.


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## sb (Apr 25, 2013)

*Hunt4shrooms *- from the picture it looks like you had rinsed or soaked the morels first. They appear wet in the pic above. This is a heavy load to try to dry with basement temps and ambient humidity (dehumidifier?).

Check out the active topic* Drying Morels* under the *Pennsylvania Forum. *Good current exchanges and advice there.
I dried Morels in the basement before getting a dehydrator, but in the very dry air stream coming from a dehumidifier. They would be dry the next day.

Please post your 'now' pic and others can learn from this, too.

*Happy Hunting.*


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