How to choose vegetables for storage
Not all cucumbers are subject to long-term storage. In order to keep cucumbers fresh as long as possible, you need to choose them correctly. It is preferable to use those fruits that grew in open ground. They have a more dense skin, which allows to extend the shelf life.
For long storage, you need to pick up dense and strong fruit with no damage and yellowness. A prerequisite - the freshness of products.Medium sized vegetables are best. Too small dry quickly, and very large do not have good taste.
The outer coating of vegetables has a natural protective layer that protects them from rapid deterioration. Imported cucumbers are processed with wax or other substances, because of which the skin shines, and they look very beautiful. This coating allows the fruit to be stored longer. If you use cucumbers from the store, then it is not recommended to wash them before being sent for storage.
However, imported vegetables are often much inferior in taste to products from their gardens. Therefore, it is preferable to preserve domestic fruits for the winter. Before you buy should know the type of cucumbers. Vegetables salad varieties are not stored for a long time, but pickling fit perfectly.
In order to keep cucumbers fresh longer, choose the following varieties:
- Nezhinsky;
- Parisian Gherkin;
- pickling;
- Murom;
- Vyaznikovsky;
- green wave;
- debut.
Hazel varieties can be easily identified by appearance. They have fairly small parameters( about eight centimeters in length), smooth, shiny skin and a uniform color over the entire length. On the skin there are many hillocks on which there may be spikes. The spikes should be of a dark shade. The flesh of such cucumbers is dense, and the seeds inside are few and small.
Storage methods
At home, any housewife can keep cucumbers fresh for the winter, using the usual tools that are always on hand. Among the existing methods of storage are modern, and there are old ones that were known to our grandmothers.
Keep in mind that cucumbers do not like high humidity, as well as sudden changes in temperature. It also harms dry air.In the bank
There is a fairly simple way to keep cucumbers fresh for the whole winter. Prepare clean glass jars in the quantity you need. In one three-liter jar will include about 600 grams of small fruits of pickling varieties.
Rinse the vegetables well with cool water. Do not soak them in containers, otherwise they can absorb excess moisture. It is not necessary to wipe the fruit so that the peel is not damaged.
Spread cucumbers on a cotton towel, which absorbs water well and let them dry for a while. When the fruit is dry, you can begin to lay them in jars.
Place the vegetables in a jar so that there is some space in the middle, about 7-10 cm from the top edge. Make sure that when laying the fruit is not too tightly adjoined to each other, so as not to spoil the skin.
When the vegetables are laid, take a small paraffin candle( 6-7 cm long).Choose the simplest candle without aromatic and other additives. You can use a small floating candle made from pure paraffin wax.
Put a candle in the hole left inside the can and set it on fire. The flame must be in the inner part of the container in order to burn out the oxygen present inside. Burning time is approximately 10 minutes. Thus, a vacuum is created in the can, which is necessary in order to preserve the vegetables.
Prepare a clean metal lid with which you will close the jar. When the candle is almost all burned, not extinguishing it, you need to quickly roll the container cover. The fire is burning out inside, destroying the last oxygen. After that banks can be put on storage.
In order to preserve the container with cucumbers for the winter, you need to remove it in a cool dark place. A cellar is suitable, or just some place in a room where no light falls. Fruits packed in this way can stand until spring.
In a barrel
Storing cucumbers in a wooden barrel is an old recipe used in Russia. It is suitable not for everyone, but only for those housewives who have the necessary conditions( for example, for villagers or those who have a garden plot).
You need a small wooden barrel( tub).It needs to be poured inside with boiling water and allowed to dry. At the bottom of the barrel, put a few leaves of horseradish. It will help the fruit to stay fresh and not deteriorate.
Cucumbers are placed vertically, so that their tails are looking down. They should stand close to each other, so as not to form free space. After the whole keg is full, horseradish leaves are put on the last layer of vegetables again. The container is sealed with a wooden lid.
After this, the tub must be placed in a pond that does not freeze for the winter. In such conditions, the optimum temperature for food storage is maintained( about +5 degrees), and there is also no light. Thanks to it fruits can be kept for the whole winter.
Using
Eggs To save cucumbers for quite a long time up to two months, you can use regular chicken eggs. The essence of this method is that each fruit is completely covered with egg white, which creates an impermeable layer. Oxygen does not get on the skin and food stays fresh for a long time.
Prepare vegetables, rinse and dry, then cover with protein. Let them dry, then transfer to a wooden or plastic container. Close the lid and store.
Using the salt
A natural preservative such as salt can help preserve vegetables for the winter. Prepare a glass jar, wash it and let it dry.
Take coarse salt and pour the bottom of the jar so that it completely covers it. Cut the cucumbers into circles and place on the salt. Then sprinkle salt on each layer of the circles until the end of the jar.
Top with salt also. Then you need to close the container with a plastic lid. Store in proper place. When you open the cucumbers to eat them, you first need to soak them in water for about half an hour.
With cabbage
This interesting way is suitable for summer residents. It is necessary to think about the long-term preservation of cucumbers even at the planting stage of vegetables, i.e., at the beginning of summer. Cucumber seeds are planted in the ground on a cabbage garden. Distribute them so that they fall between the cabbage seedlings.
When the heads of cabbages begin to form, small cucumbers are placed in the leaves, not tearing them from the stem. In the process of growth, cabbage leaves are wrapped around the cucumber fruit, wrapping it. When the cabbage is ripe, it is cleaned and placed in storage in the cellar. The cucumbers remain in a vacuum without access of light and air, which allows them to be kept for a long time.
Frost
Any vegetables can be stored for the winter frozen. To freeze the fruit will have to cut into pieces. Of course, they will not be so tasty, but this is a fairly simple and ergonomic way that will suit every hostess.
Take medium-sized fruits, peel and cut into cubes. Spread out on a towel to remove excess moisture. When the pieces dry up, put them in packages for freezing at 200-300 grams. Put in the freezer and reach as needed.
Choose the method of storing cucumbers for the winter you like. Carefully take the selection of fruits to enjoy their wonderful taste in winter.
