How long do the mushrooms last in the fridge? I have figured out the answer for you, so do not jeopardize your health! 🙂
Once a week is typically when I go food shopping. Being a mom requires me to stock up on a lot of products, including fruit and vegetables that have a limited shelf life.
I schedule my meals in advance, but not everything goes according to plan. In reality, they seldom do. Most of the time, I run out of time to prepare the meal I had planned, so I improvise and prepare something completely different.
As a result, a lot of the groceries I buy end up underutilized or even forgotten in my refrigerator, waiting for me to remember about them and use them.
For instance, mushrooms frequently end up in my grocery basket since my children and I both enjoy eating them. However, mushrooms must be consumed soon in order to prevent them from changing color and texture and posing a health risk.
For this reason, I have done my best to find the answer to the question of how long mushrooms last in the fridge. Now you and I both can be 100% sure that our long-lost mushrooms are safe to eat once we stumble upon them in our packed refrigerators!
How Long Do Mushrooms Last In the Fridge?
It is hard to answer this question as different types of mushrooms are packed and stored in different ways. On average, store-bought mushrooms can last for up to two weeks in your fridge. Storing them out of the refrigerator is not even an option.
It goes without saying that you should ask around and find out how long the mushrooms had been sitting on the store shelf before you bought them as buying fresh ones will significantly prolong the period you will be able to use them at home without having any health concerns.
If you are fortunate and find the freshest mushrooms humanly possible, you will be able to use them a few days beyond the two-week mark too, but that rarely happens when you shop in the supermarkets, as most of us do.
There is one more thing that can mess up this two-week window. Namely, usually, only whole mushrooms can last this entire period while sliced ones change their color and texture much sooner. In fact, if you prefer sliced mushrooms, be aware that their shelf-life is most often sliced by half too!
Why is that so?
- Well, once sliced, mushrooms become more exposed to the elements that cause them to turn bad in the first place. Therefore, if you are not in much hurry, or too lazy to slice mushrooms, you should better opt for the whole ones. In this way, if they end up forgotten somewhere in the back of your fridge, you will have a better chance of being able to use them!
Mushrooms pair well with pasta: How long to store pasta in the fridge?
How Can You Tell When the Mushrooms Have Gone Bad?
First of all, think before you buy!
And, by think, I mean to look closely! The seller can tell you all sorts of things, but your eyes never lie! For this reason, you must always put the mushrooms to the sight test. One look at the mushrooms will open a world of information to you!
Mushrooms that have started going bad change their appearance significantly. The first sign to look for is dark spots, It does not mean that such mushrooms are necessarily unsafe to consume, but they are definitely much closer to that point than the ones that do not have any spots.
Therefore, once you notice that mushrooms in your fridge have started to change color or develop dark spots, use them right away or be prepared to toss them rather soon!
Besides the change of color, mushrooms that are unsafe to consume can also dry out and wrinkle. Although there are mushrooms dried by special techniques you can buy and eat safely, the ones that dry out on their own can seriously endanger your health. So, wrinkles on your mushrooms are a big no, no!
If you are not sure how many spots or wrinkles are too many, give your mushrooms a sniff test as well.
If mushrooms have gone bad, their smell will change too. I hope you have had an opportunity to smell fresh mushrooms, making a sniff taste much easier to explain. If you know how fresh mushrooms smell, simply rely on them and discard the ones that have changed their odor.
The difference in the smell of fresh mushrooms and ones that have gone bad cannot remain unnoticed, believe me. If you never smelled fresh mushrooms, the best advice I can give you is to look for the ones with a subtle, light smell and avoid the ones that have a strong, unpleasant odor!
Finally, if both previous tests are inconclusive, give your mushrooms a poke. If they have gone bad, your mushrooms will be slimy and should be avoided at all costs. In fact, open your trash can and toss those slimy health hazards away at once!
Extra advice: If you go through all the tests and you are still not 100% sure whether your mushrooms are safe to eat or not, better be safe than sorry and throw them away!
Check out what Dr. Joel Fuhrman has to say about the incredible health benefits of mushrooms!
How to Prolong the Shelf Life of your Mushrooms?
First of all, avoid the rookie mistake, and do not wash the mushrooms prior to storing them in your fridge! If you soak them in water, they will go bad much quicker. In fact, presoaked mushrooms can last for only about a week in the fridge!
Why?
Soaking them will increase moisture in the environment and thus cause your mushroom to go bad faster. Wash your mushrooms immediately before you plan to use them, and you will avoid this problem. If you want to do that ahead and save time once you get to prepare them, wash the day or two before.
In essence, there is no good reason to soak your mushrooms at all – a quick wash before cooking is more than enough.
Prolonging the shelf life of your mushrooms requires you to store them properly as well. Therefore, if you wish to elongate their shelf life, store mushrooms in a paper bag. That will allow the mushrooms to “breathe” and slow down their decaying process.
If you notice that your mushrooms have begun to change, you can prolong their life by browning them. Just pour some oil in a pan and cook the mushrooms for a couple of minutes and you will add a couple of days to their shelf life. Once browned, they need to be placed in an airtight container and put back in the fridge.
Do mushroom and onion saute? Yummy! But let us first find out how long are onions good for!
Can You Freeze Mushrooms?
- Yes, it is, but fresh, whole mushrooms can be tricky to freeze due to their high water content. It is best to place the mushrooms onto parchment paper and into the freezer-safe airtight bag. For best results, try to press out as much air as possible before sealing the bag.
- Also, it is better to freeze cooked mushrooms than fresh ones. I usually steam them before freezing, but you can also blanch or saute them. Once you do that, put them in an airtight container and freeze them for up to a month. In essence, mushrooms kept constantly frozen at 0°F will stay safe indefinitely but will change their taste and texture as time goes by.
Final Words
Mushrooms are very healthy and easy to incorporate into your diet. I have some great recipes, but I hope you will share some good ones with us too!
Now that we all know how long the mushrooms last in the fridge, we can safely enjoy them together! Yet, remember this – all mushrooms are edible but some only once!
Related Article: An in-depth guide for vegetable cooking times