Once you’ve picked your shrooms, you may not want to eat them immediately. You’ll need to preserve some for future use.

Drying Liberty Caps is the best way to preserve them so they can be consumed later. Dried shrooms will last a long time as long as the container they’re stored in remains moisture-free. 

Even the largest Liberty Cap mushrooms are small, especially when compared to Psilocybe cubensis shrooms. This makes them extremely easy to dry. The thin stems and small caps hold very little moisture, and they can be dried efficiently, even without using a dehydrator.

To dry these shrooms, you’ll need a dehydrator or a clean piece of paper, a baking sheet to put it on, and a dark place with good air circulation.

You’ll want to clean the mushrooms first. Don’t wash them with water; this could encourage mold growth and lengthen the drying process. Instead, use a small dry artist’s paintbrush to brush off any dirt, debris, or small bugs from the mushrooms.

Once the shrooms have been cleaned, they can be laid out on the dehydrator trays or on top of the piece of paper. Make sure there’s plenty of room between them — none of the mushrooms should be touching. 

If you’re using a dehydrator, have it on the lowest temperature and check the mushrooms often. Flip them over once they start to shrink. They’re done once they crunch easily. 

If you’re using the paper and baking sheet, set it carefully in the designated area. After the first five or six hours, you’ll already notice them start to shrink and lose moisture. At this point, it’s a good idea to turn them all over — this will prevent the mushrooms from sticking to your paper as they dry. 

Now you can leave them for another day or two to completely dry out. These shrooms don’t take long to dry, but the longer you leave them to spread out in the open, the less chance you have of jarring them with moisture left inside. The whole drying process should be completed within 48 hours.

You’ll know that the Liberty Caps are dry when the stems snap easily without bending. The caps will also crunch when pinched between your fingers.

And that’s it. It is as simple as leaving the shrooms you’ve collected on a piece of paper for a day or two.

 So, what do you do with these caps now they’re dry?