Kvasheni Hryby (квашені гриби, fermented mushrooms)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A 1.5 litre glass fermentation jar
• •A fermentation weight or small clean jar
• •A digital scale
• •A large pot for boiling mushrooms

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose mushrooms

   Use only mushrooms you trust completely. If they are wild, they must be identified by someone who knows that forest, not by a hopeful photograph. Brush away grit, trim the stems, and halve only the large ones so they ferment evenly but still feel like mushrooms under the teeth.

   Cultivated oyster, chestnut, cremini, and small button mushrooms work well. A bit more modern, yes, but still good on the cold table.
2. 2

   Boil them first

   Bring a large pot of water to a lively boil with 1 tablespoon salt. Add the mushrooms and cook until they slump, darken slightly, and the raw forest smell turns savoury. Skim any foam, then drain well and let them cool until they are only warm to the touch. Discard this cooking water.

3. 3

   Mix the brine

   Weigh the water, weigh the salt. For this jar, stir 40g sea salt into 1 litre water until fully dissolved. Four percent is firm enough for mushrooms, which need a little discipline in the jar. This is the one place where the scale wins over the hand.

4. 4

   Pack the jar

   Put dill, garlic, peppercorns, bay, the tannin leaf, and horseradish if using into a clean 1.5 litre jar, then pack in the cooled mushrooms. Pour over the brine until everything is covered. Press down gently; mushrooms hold air in their folds, and those little trapped bubbles will rise if you give them a minute.

5. 5

   Weight and ferment

   Set a fermentation weight or a small clean jar on top so every mushroom stays below the brine. Put the jar on a plate because the loud shelf likes to announce itself, cover loosely, and leave it at cool room temperature away from direct sun. After a few days the brine will cloud, tiny bubbles will gather at the edges, and the smell will turn pleasantly sour and garlicky.

   Anything above the brine is not invited. Push it down, remove any stray floating herb, and keep the surface clean.
6. 6

   Taste and chill

   Start tasting when the jar begins to hiss softly as you loosen it. The mushrooms should be tangy, firm, and salty, with no bitterness or harsh rot smell. When they taste right to you, usually after 5 to 10 days in a cool kitchen, seal the jar and move it to the fridge. Give them another week there if you can; they settle and deepen.

7. 7

   Serve cold

   Lift out what you need with a clean spoon. Slice the mushrooms if they are large, toss with thin onion, chopped dill, and unrefined sunflower oil, then spoon them onto the zakusky board cold. They should shine, not swim. Bread nearby is not optional at my table.

Chef Tips

• •Never ferment mushrooms in oil. Oil comes only at serving, after the mushrooms are safely soured and cold.
• •If the jar smells rotten, alcoholic in a dirty way, or grows fuzzy mold on the surface, throw it away. Clean sour, garlic, dill, and mushroom are the smells you want.
• •Horseradish, blackcurrant, cherry, or oak leaves bring tannin, which helps keep the bite firm. No leaf to hand is fine; the mushrooms may be softer but still delicious.
• •A cool kitchen gives a cleaner ferment than a hot one. If your room is very warm, taste earlier and move the jar to the fridge once it is pleasantly sour.
• •Serve these with boiled potatoes, rye bread, cold meats, or just onion and oil. Enough for eight guests or one hungry Ukrainian standing in front of the open fridge.

Advance Preparation

• •The mushrooms ferment 5 to 10 days at cool room temperature, then improve for another week in the fridge.
• •Once refrigerated and kept under brine, they keep about 1 month. Use clean utensils every time.
• •Make them at least a week before you want them on a cold zakusky board.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 140g)