Grapes are a tasty and healthy treat. Berries have a restorative and tonic property. They have a positive effect on respiration, the work of the heart and blood vessels. How to store grapes so that there is always the opportunity to strengthen the immune system? There are several ways that are described in the article.
What varieties should I choose?
The duration of storage of clusters is determined by the density and maturity of the berries, sugar content. Persistent include mid- and late-ripening varieties of dark color, treated with a wax coating. This substance serves as protection against pest damage, drying out and mechanical damage.
Bunches for long storage should be chosen loose, with large whole berries sitting on the stalks. Unripe and overripe fruits deteriorate quickly. An important parameter is the sugar content of berries - the more it is, the better the keeping quality. The following grades are suitable for winter storage:
- "Moldova".
- Lydia
- Alden.
- "Typhy pink."
- Muscat of Hamburg and Muscat of Alexandria.
- Senso.
- "In memory of Negrul."
- "Moldavian black."
This grape is practically not affected by fungi. Moreover, it retains the taste and aroma of 4-6 months, for a long time does not lose color.
Correct collection
Before you familiarize yourself with how to store grapes, you must follow the rules for collecting and growing. Even if the appropriate variety is selected, this is not a guarantee of long-term storage.
The conditions for growing and collecting berries are important:
- Due to excessive watering, the shelf life of grapes is reduced. 40-45 days before harvesting, bush irrigation should be completed. As a result, unnecessary moisture leaves the berries, and sugar increases.
- Part of the bunches are removed from the bushes (up to 25%), which improves the keeping quality of the fruit. If the vine is not unloaded in time, the berries will begin to crumble and dry. For storage, they are unlikely to go.
- You need to properly feed the grapes. If nitrogen fertilizers (mineral or organic) will be used in large quantities, then the crop will not last long. And phosphorus-potassium compounds can increase sugar content and extend storage time.
- Fruits must be protected from fungi and viruses - affected fruits quickly deteriorate.
- Harvesting is best done on a sunny day. Grapes must be cut quickly, and then transferred to the shade. Do not build early in the morning or late in the evening.
- If you store the crop in a suspended form, the brush should be cut in the area with a fragment of the vine 7-9 cm long.
- Clusters with a comb can be placed in boxes.
- To protect the wax coating from damage, collectors must wear thin gloves. You should not touch the berries.
If you have grown and harvested correctly, you should know where to store the grapes so that valuable substances are preserved in it.
In the cellar
How to store grapes in the cellar? Before laying the bunches, it is necessary to inspect, remove damaged fruits with tweezers. You do not need to wash the grapes, as the wax coating will be eliminated, because of which it will quickly deteriorate. The cellar or basement must be prepared in advance. This culture is afraid of high humidity, improper air temperature, mold and pests. It is important to observe the following rules:
- The room must be carefully ventilated. Periodically you need to ventilate it. Then it turns out to protect the crop from dampness and mold.
- If the temperature in winter is less than zero, then warming is required, since grapes must be stored at a temperature of +1 to +8 degrees. At high rates, the berries lose moisture and dry out.
- Humidity should be 80%. It will be drier if you put a bucket of charcoal, sawdust or quicklime in the corner of the room.
- To prevent the formation of mold on the walls, the room must be whitewashed with lime. And to eliminate pests, fumigation with sulfur or quicklime is used. Disinfection is carried out a month before laying the harvest for storage so that the grapes are not poisoned by poisonous particles.
- Do not leave fruits with smelling foods. Vegetables should not be around either. Some, for example, potatoes, zucchini form moisture, which negatively affects the berries.
After the preparation of the bunch of grapes should be placed in the cellar for the winter. This is done in several ways.
Water tanks
This method is ideal for low yields. How to store grapes with this method? The clusters must be cut with a vine, the long end of which is then transferred to a bottle filled with water. The container should be fixed at an angle so that the brush hangs freely.
A tablet of activated carbon or aspirin should be added to the water - they will not multiply by putrefactive bacteria. This will maintain the freshness of the berries. Periodically, it is necessary to perform a slice on the vine, so that a more active absorption of nutrients occurs. So the berries are stored for at least 2 months.
On wire
How to store grapes on wire? The hands should be tied in pairs with twine, wrapped around the comb. Then you need to hang the crop on a stretched wire, rope or wooden poles. The clusters should not touch each other, so the supports are placed at different heights. This method is suitable for spacious rooms.
The berries remain fresh and do not lose taste for 3 months. Under the bunches, stretch burlap or polyethylene so as not to crush the berries. After all, vinegar fly infecting the entire crop will appear on the damaged fruits.
Crates or wooden tubs
How to store grapes for the winter in this way? Sawdust 2-3 cm thick should be placed at the bottom of the container, after which grapes are placed on them. It is important that the clusters do not touch. The tub or box must be filled to the top, alternating fruits and bulk material, and then loosely covered with a lid so as not to interfere with air exchange.
At the end, sawdust is laid. Before laying the container should be fumigated with sulfur. There is no need to use pine or spruce sawdust, since they negatively affect the taste of berries, it is advisable to choose linden or poplar. The best filler is cork powder.
You can use low boxes, which should be lined with straw, clean paper or natural material, on which clusters of berries are stacked, with ridges up. Berries are stored in a container for 1.5-2 months. To protect the crop, you need to inspect it every 2-3 weeks, eliminating spoiled fruits.
On shelves
Shelving should be about 80 cm deep. Clusters are conveniently turned over or removed. The optimum distance between the shelves is about 30 cm. The softening litter is straw. It is preferable to use straw ash, which is considered an excellent antiseptic, and also serves as a protection against pests, fungi. Clusters should be placed in one row with ridges away from themselves, so that it is easier to inspect the crop.
Fridge
Are grapes stored in the refrigerator? The device will save fruits for a long period. If the crop is small, then this option will be the best. In industrial conditions, the fruits are placed in airtight chambers, where the gas environment is regulated.
How to store grapes in the refrigerator? It should be placed in the "freshness zone", where the temperature is from 0 to +2 degrees, and the humidity is not less than 90%. In this section, the product will last up to 6 months without loss of taste and nutrients. Grapes should not be washed before being refrigerated. The clusters should be laid in one layer so that the ridges are up. You should not wrap tender fruits in polyethylene - this will cause mold.
Freezing
You can store grapes in the refrigerator, in the freezer. In this case, the berries retain their taste and benefits. Do not re-freeze the fruit. Dark varieties persist longer than light, but different crops are suitable for freezing.
The grapes must be cleaned of debris, damaged berries, and then washed and dried. The fruits should be laid out on a tray and placed in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Then for half an hour you need to remove the grapes in the freezer. Then it should be packaged in containers and frozen. To save, you can use not only all brushes, but also individual berries. Light varieties are best frozen in sweet syrup: sugar (1 cup) and water (2 cups) are required.
With defrosting the berries, pour cool water for an hour. Eat them right away. But it’s even better to hold the grapes on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator from 10 to 18 hours. Then the defrost will be smooth, because of which the taste will become saturated.
Grapes are a wonderful gift of nature, which can be consumed not only in season. With proper storage, the berries will be at home throughout the year.