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How to store vegetables? Video Tips
Vegetables are tasty and healthy only fresh, therefore it is very important to store them correctly so that the taste and useful properties, vitamins and minerals are preserved for a long time. Since vegetables are composed mainly of water, the loss of which leads to wilting and a decrease in nutritional value, you need to keep the water in them. It is also important that microbes on the surface of the food do not begin to multiply. Different vegetables have different storage methods: some can only be kept in the refrigerator, for others, the cold, on the contrary, is harmful, in addition, some vegetables cannot be stored together.
Potatoes are one of the most popular vegetables and can be stored for a long time if the conditions are correct. Since potatoes grow underground, they are better preserved in the dark and cold. Light has a detrimental effect on potatoes, it turns green due to the fact that a poisonous substance is formed in it – corned beef. In a warm place, the tubers may begin to germinate, but potatoes should not be put in the refrigerator either, since there is a lot of humidity, which leads to the appearance of mold. Therefore, it is advisable to store potatoes only in a cellar or basement, which is protected from frost in winter; you can also use a glazed and unheated balcony for this purpose.
First, you need to sort the potatoes, throw out the rotten tubers and dry them in the open air. Then the potatoes are put in wooden boxes with holes so that air can pass through them, and the boxes are placed on supports so that there is space between the floor and the bottom. Cover the potatoes with matting, bags or empty boxes on top so that these materials absorb moisture and prevent tubers from fogging up.
How to store carrots, squash and beets
Carrots have thin skin so they don’t last as long as potatoes. Carrots are stored in plastic bags, boxes, in sand, clay barrels, but it is best preserved in coniferous sawdust, since the required humidity is maintained there – 20%.
Storage temperature for carrots +1 degree
Zucchini is stored at room temperature in the dark: in an apartment, zucchini can be put in a closet, under a bed, in a box on the balcony. Subject to storage conditions, they can last for several months.
Beets keep better than carrots because they have thick skin. Beets can be folded into a box, sprinkled with sand or sawdust; instead of boxes, bags are also used. This vegetable stays great in any cool room. Radish and some exotic vegetables: daikon, sweet potato, yams are stored in approximately the same conditions.
Don’t cut all of these vegetables before storing – cut vegetables will rot quickly.
Cabbage is one of the most capricious vegetables stored for a long time. In order to preserve its appearance and useful properties for a long time, you need to observe a number of conditions: put the heads of cabbage in a good cellar with high air humidity and a temperature of about zero, after removing the upper leaves and drying the heads. At the same time, during storage, cabbage should be inspected from time to time, and if rotten leaves appear, they must be torn off so that the process does not go further. At home, many people store cabbage in the refrigerator, but this way the head of cabbage withers quickly.
Do not put cabbage in a plastic bag or it will start to rot
How to store tomatoes and cucumbers
Tomatoes do not last long, and many put them in the refrigerator to keep them fresh, but this is wrong. In the refrigerator, a tomato may look fresh for a long time, but it loses its taste and becomes loose, there is also an opinion that harmful substances accumulate in it. Store tomatoes at room or cooler temperatures, but not in complete darkness, and on a clear day, keep them out of the sun. If you bought tomatoes from a store that stored them in the cold, place them next to other tomatoes.
Cucumbers should not be exposed to the cold either; these vegetables will not last more than three days in the refrigerator. Put them in a plastic bag and always store them separately from tomatoes, as the ethylene in them and in some fruits (persimmon, banana) affects the freshness of the cucumber.
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