Take advantage of the intense summer sun and dry local mushrooms to store in the pantry. A sheet pan and an elevated cooling rack will reflect the sun and allow the air to circulate.

12–20 assorted local mushrooms, cleaned
1 sheet pan
1 cooling rack
1 sunny day
Length of cheesecloth

On a sunny day grab a rimmed sheet pan and set a cooling rack inside or propped on the rim. Remove mushroom stems and slice caps into ⅛- to ¼-inch-thick slices. Spread sliced caps evenly on the cooling rack without overlapping. Cover mushrooms with a layer of cheesecloth and set outside in full sun. Depending on the outdoor humidity, leave the mushrooms in direct sun for 2–4 hours until all the moisture has evaporated.

The mushrooms should still be flexible and buoyant like a thin foam pad—don’t allow them to shrivel to a crisp. Store in a lidded glass jar in the pantry. Add dried mushrooms directly to soups and sautés, or soak for 10-30 minutes in cold water before adding them to omelets or pastas.

Tip: If you don’t have access to the outdoors—or it’s winter—you can still dry anything in your oven. Try your best to mimic the outdoor environment in your oven with a series of racks and the convection fan turned on if you have it. Set the oven to 125°F. Prepare a sheet tray with a cooling rack like above and leave for 1–2 hours. Don’t toss that mushroom infused water away, use it for soups, combine with other broths, or freeze it for later.