Drying magic mushies question

[Dank Side Of The Shroom]

Ok i have 11 cakes of b+ that i need to dry, but at this point im to damn poor to buy any damp rid. Most drying techniques here say to use it but does anyone else have any good ideas of cheap ways to effectivly dry mushrooms? thaks in advance.

You are drying the fruit and not the cakes, right? To dry some shrooms simply place them on some newspaper and turn a fan on and place it so it will blow over them. It's really that simple. It may take a day or two but it will do the trick.

[Dank Side Of The Shroom]

Was looking at a post about using a box fan. Should i have the fan blowing on the mushies or so the fan is sucking the air out of the drying box? yeah not the cakes just the fruit.

All you really need is air moving over the mushies, so either way will work. If you use the fan so it will suck air past the mushies make sure the box you are using has some holes cut in the bottom and sides so fresh air will be pulled past the fruit.

[Dank Side Of The Shroom]

thanks dial8 Just made my broke ass feel better

Your welcome.

[OZ]

what i do is i rigged up a computer fan to a remote control car battery charger, and then place the shrooms between two styrofoam plates to dry/

[shedthemonkey]

You can get those cheap AC filters at the hardware store or the grocery stores in some parts of the world. If you have lots you can make a stack of multiple layers of filter, each with a bunch of mushies on it, and then duct tape the whole thing to a big box fan. Doesn't matter which side really. Check them in a couple days and they will be pretty damn dry.

I found a food dehydrator at a garage sale for $5US and it is very easy to unhook the heating element. It has like 6 trays on it and a fan. Works well in 2 to 4 days to cracker dry...of course if you have high humidity in your drying area they will only get mostly dry. I have the AC on year round so the RH% is pretty low here.

Good luck. It's not that difficult. Watch for flies and other bugs. I found some little beetles in my last bunch, making holes in my hard earned fungus. Little buggers really liked them.

Oh...after you get them dry, you gotta KEEP them dry. I like to vacuum bag or vacuum jar mine. Ziplocks are NOT airtight and will let moisture in after a while. Shoe stores are a great place to get tons of little drying packets for free. They come inside the new shoes.

[python]

ya, i recommend using a fan to dry......

I always just set mine in front of a fan for a day or two and they are usually cracker dry by then... Never mess with dessicants...

[hydrodad]

I have heard that dessicants can give an odor to the dried fruits. Whether this is true or not, who knows? But I just place them on a screen and do the fan thing.

[suckerfree]

Depending on your humidity you might need to use a dessicant for longer term storage.

[panic]

how would you do it w/ damp rid?

[Dank Side Of The Shroom]

humidity here is 40%

[kingstrrophariad]

damp rid is only like $1.50 - $3.00 at the most, you can find that in your couch cushions, and if you have a good setup(with damp ride not on the bottom but on a self of its own) it will last a good while.

[slp]

I have always found the hair dryer best. Either put it on the end of your box or just place it above the shrooms in a bowl, on low. The moving warm air will dry
them out really fast, just like your wet hair. Psilocybin degrades at 190 F temp. When the dryer is a foot or so away from the shrooms, on low, it will not even come close to the degrade temp. They also retain a lot of their natural color. I also like the fact that it does it fast, within an hour or two depending on how many you are drying. Never let your shrooms of any kind lay around for 2 or more days at warm temps while moist! You are inviting bad bacteria. I also like using 1/4 inch hardware cloth for my shelves......slp/fmrc

[Bluefanatic]

Ive been doing the fan method and then dessicant. It gets cracker dry. I have been storing them in mason jars (bought from ARC and then on Saturdays they are half off, you can get a dozen for $2.50. Then on the bottom of the jars, I have a coffee filter with dessicant in it folded up, hope this keeps the moisture away. Not sure if this will let me keep the mushies for a long time. I guess I will find out.

[vitamin_d_added]

And If you are really a Cheap-Ass (or just cannot find Damp-Rid®) you can use EPSOM SALTS.


Unless you are in jail you can find epsom salts. Most grocery stores and ALL drug stores carry it. Its a laxative . Now the only trouble in paradise is it must first be treated before it can be used as a desiccant.


The chemical formula for epsom salts is Magnesium Sulfate Heptahydrate. This means that each molecule of salt has seven molecules of water "locked" into it. By heating the salt to a high temperature we can drive off most of this water.


Just place the salt in a Pyrex®, or other oven-safe dish. Heat this uncovered at about 450°F~500°F (230°C~260°C). You will know you doing it right when the salts change from semi-translucent granules to a white opaque mass. When this happens remove the pan from the oven and quickly break the mass into smaller chunks and stir them around. The idea is to expose all of the salt to the heat of the oven. DO NOT POWDER THE MATERIAL; this just creates alot of dust and makes the end product harder to work with. After about 2-3hrs the salt should be ready to come out of the oven.


Now we have, in theory, Anhydrous Magnesium Sulfate; But in all reality one is more likely to have Magnesium Sulfate Monohydrate. This is no problem as there are still six juicey hydrophillic spots waiting to be occupied. To keep you desiccant at its peak pour it while still hot into a mason jar and seal the lid. As the salt cools it will form a vaccuum and seal the jars nice and air tight.


You can use this material just as you would any other desiccant. Place a small amount into an air tight container and place the mushrooms on top. In order to keep the mushrooms from getting any of the desiccant on them place them on a small screen or a piece of paper towling. Leave the container sealed for a few days and the mushrooms should come out dry as a bone.


After many runs the desiccant may need to be "recharged". This is done by removing the water in the same maner as described before.

Oh and any rumor about desiccants lending their flavor to the mushrooms does not apply here. I have never noticed a difference.