It is hard to exaggerate the value of a pumpkin. This vegetable is useful to everyone and in any form: raw, boiled, steamed, baked. Therefore, every housewife, collecting an autumn crop in the garden , thinks about how to store the pumpkin so that it stores maximum vitamins and useful elements. The following article is devoted to this question. We will consider a variety of options for storing orange vegetables. Get ready to memorize them or write them in your notebook with useful tips.
How to keep a pumpkin fresh for the winter?
Fruits without external damage and absolutely ripe are suitable for long-term savings. The color of such a vegetable is richly yellow, orange or red (it depends on the variety). Store pumpkin preferably in a cool, dry place. Most of all, a basement or a covered balcony is suitable for this. In rural conditions, a barn can become such a place, provided that during the frost in it the air temperature remains positive. In the room under the bed, you can also save this vegetable for several months.
Humidity in the room where the fruits lie should be 80-85%. The temperature regime should be maintained within 10-25 degrees. You need to lay the pumpkin on a layer of hay or straw, leaving spaces between the vegetables. If the winter is frosty, then additionally cover and cover all the fruits with the same materials.
Orange vegetables quickly deteriorate if exposed to sunlight. Therefore, if you store it on the balcony, then cover all the fruits with a veil.
How much can a pumpkin be stored in whole fruits? Subject to all the above conditions, the vegetable can be stored until spring. And this is a total of 6-7 months.
How to store a pumpkin in a cut form?
There are several ways to save this healthy vegetable. Let's consider them in more detail.
- Freezing Cut the fruit and clear the seeds. Cut the flesh into pieces, put in a plastic bag or plastic dish (for food) and put in the freezer. For 9-10 months, with such storage in a pumpkin, all useful nutritional properties are preserved.
- Drying. Cut the vegetable into slices 1 cm thick. Boil water in a saucepan, dip slices of pumpkin into it for a minute, remove into a colander and let the water drain. Lay the plates on a baking sheet and place in the oven or electric dryer. Set the temperature of the device to 60 degrees and then gradually increase it to 80 degrees. When the vegetable is completely dried, leave it to cool completely. Fold the pumpkin slices in a cloth bag or plastic container and store at room temperature. Precoat the bottom of the vessel with wax-soaked paper. Make sure that moisture does not get into containers in which dry pieces of vegetable lie. Fruits processed in this way are stored for up to 1 year, retaining all the vitamins in their composition.
How to store a pumpkin? You already know the answer to this question. It turns out that this is absolutely not a hassle. Try to save as many fruits of this healing vegetable as possible. Until spring, you can cook delicious cereals, mashed potatoes and juices from it.