Mushroom disaster!!

[Kayelle]

I'm looking for sympathy.......I brought home a LOT of expensive dried Porchini mushrooms from Italy and discovered they are full of Italian "critters".

Like most everybody, I've had to throw out flour and grains with bugs and have learned to keep them in the freezer but I never gave the mushrooms a thought. That's about the most expensive food mistake I've ever made, and I sure can't return them.
Having a hissy fit.........

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Are you having your hissy fit inside or outside?

 

[Dawgluver]

Yikes! Sympathies! What kind of critters? Do they have an accent?

I would be POed too!

Can you soak them in vinegar? Microwave, then rinse? Really, really well.

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

Oh, yucky. Stupid critters.

 

[joesfolk]

Are you having your hissy fit inside or outside?

I'm going to remember that one.

 

[justplainbill]

My grandparents used to dry mushrooms by stringing them over their wood / coal burning kitchen stove. It was not uncommon to hear a hissing sound if a worm or two fell out of a drying mushroom.

 

[Dawgluver]

Have you already thrown them away? If not, there must be a way to salvage them.

Gack, I too would be furious. Especially at the price.

 

[kadesma]

Kayele,
My m-i-l always had dried mushrooms. She would put them into a coffee can along with dry bay leaves and a hand full of peppercorns. No critters when we used them. I will say that pocrcini's are very sandy so when I rehydrate them I like to use the broth to make my gravy brown and not red but I pass the broth through cheese cloth that I've doubled and that catches the grit.
kades

 

[Aunt Bea]

It is a shame to waste them.

They might make a nice gift to someone on your sssssshhhhhhhhhort list

 

[joesfolk]

Broccoli is famous for having worms in it. If it is soaked in a water bath with a lot of salt the worms, die the veggies can then be extracted from the water. You could probably do this with the mushrooms too.

 

[Dawgluver]

My Hen of the Woods, while fresh, had many critters in it as well. I had to pick it apart, rinse every piece, and freeze it.

 

[Snip 13]

Yikes! Sympathies! What kind of critters? Do they have an accent?

I would be POed too!

Can you soak them in vinegar? Microwave, then rinse? Really, really well.

It's ok to eat critters with an accent..lol!

 

[pacanis]

Ouch, that's gotta burn you. I'm surprised you could get them in though. Aren't there regulations for bringing in produce from other countries, so new insects aren't introduced here?
And I would opt for nuking. I don't think the microwave will hurt the dried shrooms. Water would rehydrate them and freezing would probably only put the bugs in a dormant state.

 

[Dawgluver]

Ouch, that's gotta burn you. I'm surprised you could get them in though. Aren't there regulations for bringing in produce from other countries, so new insects aren't introduced here?.

I wondered the same thing.

 

[Bigjim68]

I wondered the same thing.

I agree. Before I did anything with them, I would either nuke them or boil to make sure the critters are dead. Lots of unwanted pests have come into the country in exactly this way.

 

[Snip 13]

To kill weavils in flour, maizemeal etc. You can either put it in the freezer overnight or for 30 mins in a low oven. Same should work for this problem

 

[Kayelle]

Thanks guys for all the "poor baby's" and ideas. Around eight cups of Porchini's are in the dumpster now. Pitching out a 3 dollar bag of flour with weavels sure doesn't come close to this. Grrr....I'm nearly positive they were weavels. I suppose I could have tried to salvage them somehow, but the thought of eggs and larvae turns my stomach.
About bringing them into this country......there are no restrictions I know of about dried foods. In customs we are often asked about having fresh fruits or veg but never about anything else.
I swear I could hear these little foreign monsters snickering on their way to the dumpster. Dang Buggars.

 

[Dawgluver]

Ah, too bad. Italian Mushroom weevils are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world. Right, Snip?

 

[Snip 13]

Weevil eggs are present in a lot of grains and dry food we buy and the right humidity, temperature etc will cause them to hatch. We have all eaten weevil eggs I assure you!
They spread like wild fire so check your dry products well. If you want to prevent them store all grains in the freezer or fridge. Putting dry goods in sealed containers and scattering some whole cloves in pantry around foods help. I keep a small piece of candle wax in each container too. Haven't had a weevil near my food in over 2 years and I battled to get rid of them.

 

[Snip 13]

Ah, too bad. Italian Mushroom weevils are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world. Right, Snip?

Fry them up with a bit of butter and garlic, delicious