No housewife can not do in the kitchen without such a wonderful vegetable, like carrots. It is used in soups, salads, side dishes, sauces, and even baking and desserts. In addition to the taste of carrots is very useful. It contains fiber, vitamins of group B, C, vitamin E of youth, potassium, beta-carotene, iron.
The daily use of carrots will strengthen the eyesight, refresh the face, increase immunity. The question is how to store the carrot at home in the winter.
Description
Carrots have a stiff, woody structure with a well-defined core and bark. Vegetable is high in fiber, sugars and proteins.. The strength of the cells depends on the amount of fiber, sugar is used by cells for respiration during storage, and proteins bind water. All these factors prevent wilting and rotting under certain storage conditions, contribute to the keeping quality of the product.
IMPORTANT! Carrot storage conditions: a dark place with a relative humidity of up to 90%, the temperature should not exceed 5 degrees (for details on the required storage temperature of carrots, read here).
The best varieties that can lie until spring
For the most part, mid-season and late-ripening carrots lie better. These roots are large and long, weighing up to 200-230g, conical or cylindrical. But in the period of weather anomalies, when late summer or early autumn, late varieties do not have time to ripen and accumulate enough sugar and fiber. Early varieties are stored better in such cases.
Late-ripening carrots, suitable for storage (shelf life of more than six months, subject to the necessary conditions):
Queen of Autumn - root crops are sweet, juicy, crunchy, perfect for all types of processing, retain quality during the laying period;- Vita Long - famous for its high content of carotene and a small heart, good in any form, but especially suitable for juices;
- the emperor - during storage this variety improves its properties, lasts up to seven months.
Queen of Autumn - root crops are sweet, juicy, crunchy, perfect for all types of processing, retain quality during the laying period;Mid-season carrot varieties (shelf life up to six months, subject to the necessary conditions):
- vitamin - very sweet variety, roots with a small core and a high content of carotene and vitamins;
- the incomparable - the grade possesses fine flavoring qualities, is suitable for children's and dietary food.
Early ripening varieties (shelf life up to four months subject to the right conditions):
- Alenka - root crops are small, sweet, juicy;
- Paris carrot - small round root vegetables, very sweet, the variety is suitable for desserts, sweet pastries.
You can read more about suitable varieties of carrots and their storage periods here, and here we told you which varieties of carrots are suitable for long-term storage.
Preparatory stage
Root vegetables must be prepared before storage.:
- It is useful for two weeks before harvesting to plentifully water the beds so that the vegetables are saturated with moisture, become juicy, sweet and crispy.
- Fresh carrots need to sort, remove the rotten, damaged roots.
- Wash, dry carrots in the air.
- Cut the tops, leaving the stalks no more than a centimeter, and long tips (you can read about carrots before storing them in this article).
Learn more about how to prepare carrots for storage for the winter, you can find here.
Home Storage
There are several ways to keep carrots fresh for the winter.. Consider them in detail.
On the balcony
Prepared vegetables are placed in rows in a box, covered with a lid and carried out on the glazed balcony.- You can shift the roots with sawdust.
- It is better to choose a wooden box with solid walls, without holes.
- The carrot is on the balcony until the first frost, then the box is brought into the apartment and left in a cool place (for example, near the balcony door or in the pantry), away from heating devices.
- If you wrap a box with a thick veil, the carrots can be left on the balcony for the winter.
Prepared vegetables are placed in rows in a box, covered with a lid and carried out on the glazed balcony.Read more about how to keep carrots for the winter on the balcony, read here.
Under the bed
Carrots are laid out in one row on a sheet or oilcloth and shift wooden chips. This way you can save vegetables for three to four months. Root vegetables should not touch each other.
In the clay mash
A reliable way to ensure the safety of up to seven months.
- When preparing carrots, it is not necessary to wash them; it is enough to clean them carefully from a thick layer of earth.
- Clay dilute with water to the consistency of thick cream and carefully, so as not to damage the roots, coat carrots, dried in the air and put in plastic bags or cardboard boxes.
- You can lay the roots on the bottom of an enamelled pot and pour the prepared liquid clay, let it dry in the air and, if necessary, lay the next row of roots, followed by pouring clay.
- Store in a cool place.
In a refrigerator
The washed carrots are placed in a plastic bag and sent to the refrigerator, in a box for vegetables on the bottom shelf. Shelf life up to two months.
How to store carrots in the fridge, so that it is not lethargic, you can find here.
In the pantry
Council In the pantry is always cooler than in any other part of the apartment.
- Carrots can be stored in this room, pre-laid in a canvas bag or box and sprinkled with wood shavings.
- You can put in an enamel basin, pour with sawdust and cover with cotton cloth or towel.
With this method, carrots are stored for two to three months.
Then you can see the video, which tells how to store carrots in the pantry:
In freezer
The easiest and most reliable way. Prepared carrots rubbed on a grater, laid out in plastic bags and sent to the freezer.
Safety up to 12 months. One drawback - in this form the vegetable is more often suitable only for heat treatment.
Read more about how to freeze carrots, read here.
Possible problems
- If the vegetables are not periodically picked, then a rotten or diseased root vegetable can spoil everything else.
- When the temperature fluctuates (for example, in the kitchen), germination of carrots is possible, which will shorten its shelf life.
Carrots - a storehouse of vitamins and minerals. It is easiest to ensure its safety in the cellar, but in its absence it is possible to preserve the taste and freshness of the root vegetables for a sufficient period of time in the apartment.
But do not forget that the carrot retains its beneficial properties only for a few hours after it has been removed from the bed. With long-term storage, the use of root crops is saved only by a quarter.
