Cold Storage
Uncut pumpkin is perfectly stored throughout the winter in the apartment. It is only important that sunlight does not fall on it, and the place is cool. You can choose a glazed balcony, pantry or locker in the hallway. But if to damage the strong peel acting as a protective armor, then storage periods will be considerably reduced.
Cut pumpkin for a long time can not be stored in room conditions. After a few days, the pulp begins to rot and become covered with mold, because the fruit contains a large amount of water.
In the refrigerator at a temperature of + 3 °. .. + 4 ° it will lie for about 10 days. The cut is closed with foil and placed in the vegetable compartment. If you pack the pumpkin tightly in foil, it will be stored twice as long. And for preparations for the winter it is necessary to choose another way, because the refrigerator will not work.
Freezing
To keep the cut fruit in the apartment for several months, it is frozen:
- cut the pumpkin into several pieces and remove the seeds, do not need to freeze them;
- remove the peel with a sharp knife;
- cut the orange flesh into small square pieces or grate;
- spread out the pieces in batches;
- send everything to the freezer.
Since the skin is very hard, it is difficult to clean. To facilitate the process by cutting the fruit into several parts, after cutting off the tail( stalk).It is necessary to use a sharp straight knife or a special knife for cleaning vegetables, slightly similar in shape to a razor. The core and seeds are removed with a spoon.
In the frozen state, the pumpkin will be stored for six months or even longer. From it prepare porridge, casseroles, pancakes, muffins and other pastries.
If you thawed a pumpkin, then you can’t freeze it again. Use everything that was in the package. Pieces can simply be baked in the oven or microwave oven, sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon.Selected seeds are lightly browned in a griddle and eaten. They are rich in zinc, iron, vitamins and just tasty. You can eat raw sunflower seeds, pre-rinse them in water and dry.
Drying
If you want to keep a pumpkin in the apartment for the winter, then dry it, as it is done with apples, pears and mushrooms at home.
- vegetable peeled and from seeds, cut into slices( pieces) with a thickness of 0, 5-1 cm;
- then the pieces are dipped for a few seconds in boiling water, pulled out with a skimmer and allowed to drain in a colander or on a sieve;
- when the water is drained, the pieces are laid out on a wire rack in the oven, preheated to + 60 ° or dried in an electric dryer.
Dried pieces are stored in boxes or jars with the lid tightly closed in a dry place. The shelf life of dried or dried pumpkin is 12 months. This is a very convenient way of storage in the apartment, since the dried vegetable is several times smaller in size and does not deteriorate for a long time.
With a big crop of pumpkin make juice, mashed potatoes or sweet candied fruits. Those who do not like pumpkin flavor are advised to add lemon and orange zest or sea buckthorn juice to their blanks.
