Crafting a low-tech dryer for mushrooms
Happy the man, who has made a fine walk into the woods, and then returns, with a basket full of mushrooms. Back home, now comes the time to prepare and preserve his treasure. Eating them all is obviously the best option, he should definitely go for it — but watch out for indigestion! Sterilizing them in jars is also a good practice, although it requires time, room and technique.
What about drying them? How about creating a low-tech mushroom dryer? How is it linked to a sensory experience? Let’s see that!

Machine overview
The quality of the dehydration is based on a maximum elimination of the water contained in the mushrooms, as quickly as possible while avoiding too high temperatures which would alter their tastes. If the drying is too slow, fermentations can take place, thus irreversibly affecting the taste of mushrooms.
To get a nice drying, the machine is composed of 3 main components:
- a fan, to activate air circulation between mushrooms
- a heat source, to get a temperature around 40–50°C
- a rack system, to ease mushrooms handling and stacking

Finding the right materials — the art of recycling
For the fan, any type can work, one just have to make sure to have the corresponding power supply. Here is one that was taken from an old broken vacuum cleaner:

For the heat source, a few light bulbs are enough, even if a real heat source would have been more power efficient. Place them in the airflow, so to maximize the drying efficiency:

For the rack system, one needs some imagination. Here is the re-use of an old bee hive:

And its associated set of queen bee excluders, used to stack the mushrooms:

Finally, the assembled mushrooms dryer, ready to work:

Ready for a sensory experience?
All set! It’s now time to enjoy the mushrooms drying machine — a real sensory experiment. Put the dryer in your living-room or your bedroom, adopt a chillax posture and just live the experience:
- a soft scent of freshly cut mushrooms invades your room and stimulates your olfactory cells
- the regular vibration of the fan, combined with the soft heat of the dryer, gets you to a sleepy mindset, conducive to meditation
- a lighting show illuminates your ceiling: the air circulation over the light bulbs generates hot air swirls going through the grids stack. Moving lights and shadows create a psychedelic effect!
What should one do with the dried mushrooms?
Store them in a dedicated hermetic jar:

The jar should be kept out of light, in a dry and aerated place. The evaporation of the water contained in the mushrooms will protect them against the microorganisms responsible for their deterioration, thus allowing to keep them for several years while maintaining their aromas.
To rehydrate the mushrooms, put them in a bowl of warm water for 30 minutes. Mushrooms are now ready to be mixed into sauces, soups, risottos or gratins. Enjoy!
