Drying mushrooms

[Pemulis]

Hello fellow mushroom enjoyers. I'm looking for peoples' opinions on the best way to dry shrooms.

Some sources say not to use heat at all. Others say low heat (30 or 40 degrees C) as higher temperatures damage the psilocybin. Other sources say this is outdated and higher heat should be used (70C) to get the shrooms dry as quick as possible to prevent degradation.

I'm asking because grew some cubes recently (golden teacher & McKennai strains) using monotubs. This all went quite smoothly but the shrooms weren't as potent as I had expected or hoped. I took 4g, followed by another 2g a couple of hours later, and the result was a very manageable, enjoyable but slightly underwhelming trip.

I used a food dehydrator at 50C until cracker dry (everyone seems to agree on this part at least) and store them in airtight jars.

It is possible that the low potency was due to factors other than drying technique. It has been a hot summer so far, so the temperature in the monotub is probably higher than ideal. It may be because I am used to liberty caps, which I understand are stronger gram for gram.

I had also smoked some DMT a few days before and I am also wondering if there could be a cross-tolerance effect.

Appreciate your help folks, many thanks.

 

[blig-blug]

get the shrooms dry as quick as possible to prevent degradation

My understanding is that this is correct. I'm not sure about 70C, maybe that's too much, but definitely it's best to get them dry and move them somewhere airtight as fast as possible.

For how long where they in the dehydrator?

 

[Pemulis]

Cheers @blig-blug. They were in there for 12-14 hours I believe. I am leaning towards upping the heat next time which ought to reduce this time.

My instinct is that, if 80-90C water doesn't destroy the psilocybin when I make mushroom tea, why would 70C air do so? Although I say this without a full understanding of what is actually going on scientifically.

 

[Nydex]

As I've shared in my TTBVI grow thread, drying in a regular oven is highly discouraged, because it destroyed my entire first batch (dropped the potency by at least 85% by the time I pulled them out at supposedly 50C). The reason is that conventional ovens don't have that precise of a temperature control and what usually happens is when you set a low temp like 50C, they initially jump way higher and then cool off until they approximately reach 50C, but the heat distribution is uneven.

A dehydrator set at 50C is optimal IMO, and then you can move them directly into a jar of anhydrous calcium sulphate (called Drierite in the US) for complete dehydration, followed by vacuum-sealing them in plastic. It would seem that even when vacuum sealed, the plastic seems to leech some level of moisture from the environment, so putting the sealed bag in a jar would guarantee you don't get any moisture in there.

Good luck!

 

[doubledog]

Imo your drying process is not the reason for low potency.

Flow of air is more important than temperature.

 

[northape]

If I remember correctly, GordoTek did a complete study of different approaches and found out that fast drying at a high temp in a dehydrator works best.
My own dehydrator goes to 70°C, but that's just the temp of the hot air. You'll never get it in the mushrooms themselves as long as they have moisture left.
A traditional oven heats the metal surface instead of the air, so it's far from optimal. Basically, you won't get a bad result as long as you use a dehydrator.

then you can move them directly into a jar of anhydrous calcium sulphate (called Drierite in the US) for complete dehydration, followed by vacuum-sealing them in plastic. It would seem that even when vacuum sealed, the plastic seems to leech some level of moisture from the environment, so putting the sealed bag in a jar would guarantee you don't get any moisture in there.

Store them whole too, because powdered mushrooms have more surface area and react easier with moisture and oxygen.

 

[Nydex]

Imo your drying process is not the reason for low potency.

Flow of air is more important than temperature.

Perhaps you're right, because I dried the rest of my harvest under a pretty powerful fan and to say they pack a powerful punch would be the understatement of the century

 

[doubledog]

Yes, you can effectively dry mushrooms with a fan even in room temperature. Warmer air is ofc better.

Just an interesting piece of information: Traditional way of drying edible mushrooms (e.g. Boletus) for taste/flavour here is to start lower (30°C), then after some time, when you see them drying on the surface, increase to 50°C, and just before end, increase to 60-65°C to finish the process. The last step is for improving taste, so maybe not so useful for us.

 

[Jamie01]

I use a dehydrator

 

[Sakkadelic]

From my understanding, the reason to use higher drying temperatures (> 40° C) is to denature the enzymes that break down the actives. With lower temps, the enzymes continue breaking down the actives during drying until the mushrooms are sufficiently dry and the enzymes are disabled, however, the enzymes are preserved and will reactivate when rehydrated.

The other path of degradation is oxidation, this is worsened by high temperatures, increased air flow, moisture, and time. So with hot drying there's a compromise between increased temperature and air flow and reduced moisture and time. With food dehydrators getting them to dry as fast as possible by using the highest temperature setting (usually 70°C) seems to be the best way to go.

You need to make sure they are cracker dry before storing in an airtight container with a desiccant. Check them again in a day, if they had retained moisture they'll feel soft and bendy rather than cracker dry, put them again in the dehydrator.

And if one wants to freeze fresh mushrooms, it's important to heat them first to denature the enzymes. One time I froze fresh mushrooms directly and as they thawed they lost potency completely.

 

[blig-blug]

You need to make sure they are cracker dry before storing in an airtight container with a desiccant. Check them again in a day, if they had retained moisture t

That's optimal for sure, but with a good dessicant it doesn't seem to be required. I've stored mushrooms that were still bendy in a container with calcium chloride, and they became cracker dry in a few days. Of course, the faster they dry, the better. But this is a good option in a situation where one can't dry them better (i.e. a humid environment and no access to a dehydrator).

 

[Sakkadelic]

That's optimal for sure, but with a good dessicant it doesn't seem to be required. I've stored mushrooms that were still bendy in a container with calcium chloride, and they became cracker dry in a few days. Of course, the faster they dry, the better. But this is a good option in a situation where one can't dry them better (i.e. a humid environment and no access to a dehydrator).

Yes, I recall seeing a post about someone drying them with desiccant only in a week or so.

 

[TransistorBass]

I'd be interested on anyone's thoughts on drying sliced magic truffles as I'm currently trying some in my dehydrator here - With a bit of luck I'll have some Magic Truffles today