Zucchini is very useful, but in fresh form we use them mostly only in summer. Canned zucchini , of course, delicious, but in the process of cooking, some of the vitamins die in it. Yes, and for a young child, he no longer fits.
And many are wondering - is it possible to store zucchini in winter so that they remain fresh and fit for food? It turns out, you can. Only you need to know some subtleties.
Varieties of courgettes suitable for winter storage
Not every zucchini is suitable for storage. The best way is in the winter zucchini with thick skin and small seeds. And to those include courgettes of the following varieties:
- "Aeronaut" - early variety, fruits are cylindrical, skin - dark green, can be stored for up to 4 months;
- "Pear-shaped" - early-ripening variety with pear-shaped zucchini and flesh of orange color, characterized by excellent cauteriness;
- "Assete F1" - a variety of Dutch breeding with large fruits, which are well kept for a long time;
- "Arlika" is a very fruitful variety with a long period of fruiting and good fruiting;
- "Negrotenok" - a variety of courgettes with black-green skin, fruits have an elongated-cylindrical shape, well stored for 2 months;
- "Yellow-fruited" is a yielding variety with small, slightly silvery, cylindrical fruits that are stored for about 3 months;
- "Anchor" - early-ripening variety, its fruits with light yellow flesh are stored about a month.
How to store zucchini?
To keep the fruits of zucchini long, first of all you need to collect them correctly. It is necessary to do this before the frost, since the frozen will not lie for a long time - they will quickly deteriorate.
The fruits selected for storage must have a juicy pedicel and a dense skin. Ripened fruits are not desirable to store - they are reduced in taste and lezhkost.
When you cut a zucchini, you need to leave a foot of at least 5 cm. The fruit itself must have a size of at least 15 cm. The leg is needed in order to serve after withering sewed from various infections and other pathogens.
Selected zucchini should be carefully, but carefully cleaned from the ground and dried in the sun, but not washed - it is strictly prohibited.
How to store zucchini for the winter - choose a place
It is not enough to select suitable fresh squash, you also need to understand how and where to store them better. The room for their storage should be cool, with a constant temperature of about +4 ... + 10 ° C. Important and humidity - it should be at 80%.
Can I store zucchini in the cellar - you ask. Yes! This is the best, almost ideal option for storing various vegetables - not just zucchini. To control the temperature, hang a thermometer here and periodically ventilate the room.
But what if there is no cellar? In principle, courgettes are not bad at home. In the house it can be a pantry, a canopy and other rooms. The main thing is not to put vegetables next to the heating batteries and in conditions of high humidity.
In the apartment zucchini is recommended to store in boxes near the balcony or entrance door, another option - under the bed. In the refrigerator zucchini lie about 3 weeks, and then provided that they will lie in the vegetable compartment, where the temperature is + 5 ° C.
When storing zucchini for winter storage, put them in such a way that they are minimally in contact with each other. In the cellar, they can be placed on shelves, covered with straw. And you can hang vegetables to the ceiling.
In the apartment zucchini should be stored, wrapped in paper or set between the fruit cardboard partitions. You can stack them in cardboard boxes, in which rags are laid.
Observing all these recommendations, you can save zucchini for 4-5 months. But try to use them before the skin is completely condensed, the seeds will sprout, and the pulp will become tasteless.