To keep the cabbage well, you need to choose winter varieties. Those heads that were ripped off in the middle of autumn are perfect. They must be cut so that a few adjacent green leaves remain. This will protect cabbage from mechanical damage and the development of pathogens. The product is used to prepare various dishes, so every housewife should know how to store cabbage in the basement and at home.
How to harvest?
To keep the cabbage well for a long time, you need to properly collect it from the beds. Heads of cabbage need to be broken during the onset of the first frost. A product hardened in this way will be even tastier and healthier.
Many gardeners recommend digging cabbage with a root, cleaning it from the ground. Before you send the crop for storage, you need to carefully sort it out. All heads of cabbage that are damaged and begin to rot should be cooked or fermented immediately.
All good cabbage should be dried during the day and carefully inspected again. The final step is trimming the stitches.
Cellar storage
So that the product does not lose its taste, it is necessary to choose the right place for storage. It can be a cellar, pantry, balcony or loggia. When thinking about how to store cabbage in the basement so that it does not disappear, you need to remember the main rules. First of all, the room should be well ventilated. So that the cabbages lay for a long time and did not lose their original appearance, in the basement it is necessary to maintain a high level of humidity and low temperature indicators.
Storage in polyethylene
It’s easy to figure out how to store cabbage in
cling film until the summer. This method is quite simple, so it is often used. The head of cabbage should be completely put in a package, while the leg of cabbage with a spine should be at the top. It must be checked that the packaging is intact and tight so that the rotting process does not begin.
Use a vacuum cleaner to pump out all the air. The package should be fully adjacent to the cabbage. If the packaging is truly airtight, negative external effects will not harm the product. It can be changed as needed.
Sand Boxes
If this method seems very complicated and time-consuming, you can use cling film or plastic bags, but do not pump out the air. Before storing cabbage in the basement, you need to prepare special boxes. They must be filled with sand or soil.
Cabbage is pulled out of the ground along with the roots, and then placed in boxes. First you need to pour sand only to the bottom, and after the heads of cabbage have been laid, they need to be poured with sand. The legs of the cabbage should remain on the surface.
Clay and paper
These methods are not very well known, but they allow you to store cabbage for quite some time. The use of paper is justified if the room is not very wet. Prepared heads of cabbage need to be wrapped with paper and laid out on shelves so that they do not touch each other.
Many people know how to store cabbage in the basement. Home tricks can improve this process. To protect the product from decay, germs and fungi, you can make a kind of cover for it. To do this, clay must be diluted in water, so that the mass acquires the consistency of sour cream. The head of cabbage needs to be covered completely until there are no vulnerabilities. It is better to dry cabbage on the street. For convenience, it can be hung from the ceiling or laid out on a flat, clean surface.
Cell grid
This method is laborious, but the result is worth it. It is necessary to choose boards or slats to build a grid with dimensions of about 15x15 cm. The first layer of heads of cabbage is laid out through one cell, the second - in free places. Thus, a kind of pyramid will be obtained, and one head will remain at the top. This storage method allows the crop to be stored for a very long time, since air ventilation is carried out.
Storage in the apartment
When thinking about how to properly store cabbage in the winter in the cellar and in the apartment, it is worth remembering that the heads of cabbage will deteriorate due to insufficient access of oxygen, poor ventilation or excess moisture. If there is no need to store cabbage all winter, you can simply put the product in a bag or in a box.
People who know the secrets of storing cabbage cover the floor in the basement with a layer of straw or fern. This makes it possible to maintain the required level of humidity.
Hanging
Cabbage will be well stored, if it was hung by the stumps. Heads of cabbage are connected in pairs and hung on poles. The shelf life will be quite long, as good ventilation is provided.
Storage at the beds
It is not difficult to figure out how to store cabbage in the basement, but not everyone has a cellar. In this case, you can try to store the product directly on the bed. To do this, dig a trench about two bayonets of a shovel. Its bottom must be covered with straw and laid head out so that the roots remain on the surface. Top should be poured earth, leaving small tips of the roots.
Freezing
If the methods of properly storing cabbage in the cellar in the winter are not suitable for some reason, you can use another option. For cooking, frying or stewing, a frozen product is suitable. It must be washed and chopped, and then laid out in portions in plastic bags. This method allows you to save all the vitamins and useful components, in addition, the workpieces significantly save time that is spent on cooking.