Cucumbers have long ceased to be a curiosity on our tables, even in the winter season. Buying fresh cucumbers today is not a problem even in severe frost. True, out of season the price for them “bites”, and the taste, as many say, is far from the same as that of Zelentsy from their garden. This is probably why, towards the end of each summer season, we ask ourselves the question – how to keep them fresh for a long time? How can you maximize the shelf life? What varieties are suitable for this? And, probably, the most important question is where to store cucumbers?
There are many ways to keep fruits fresh for a long time.
Even the ancient Romans said: “Tastes do not argue.” So it is: some love greens from the garden, others prefer greenhouse cucumbers, which you can buy at any time of the year, and others don’t see any difference between them at all. Therefore, we will not argue about tastes, we will not convince anyone either, but we will simply talk about storing cucumbers.
How long can fresh cucumbers be stored
Keeping cucumbers fresh for 5-7 days is not difficult. It is also possible to increase this period to 3 weeks or longer (sometimes even until spring) if special storage conditions are created. But let’s talk about everything in order.
Select fruits for long-term storage especially carefully.
Summer residents have shared the secrets of growing cucumbers on the pages of our website more than once:
You always have the opportunity to re-read these articles. And I will just remind you of the main advantages of cucumber: in addition to excellent taste, it has a high content of magnesium and potassium; in addition, the fruits contain vitamins PP, B and C, carotene, macro- and microelements. True, there is a lot of water in cucumbers (95-97%), so it is difficult to keep them fresh for a long time. But if you set yourself such a goal, nothing is impossible.
It is necessary to start selecting cucumbers for long-term storage even at the stage of their collection or purchase: stale or overgrown fruits are not suitable for storage.
How to choose cucumbers
It is important! The fruits must be:
Fresh:
- when picking cucumbers in your own garden, try to make sure that as little time as possible passes from the time of collection to the moment of storage. Fruits that have lain for several days at room temperature are no longer suitable for long-term storage;
The less time it takes from collection to storage, the better.
- when buying cucumbers at the market, pay attention not only to individual specimens, but to the entire batch. If most of the fruits are wilted, it is better to refuse to buy – they will not lie for a long time, even if some seem fresh.
Clean and dry:
- it is impossible to wash the greens before storing them, because the fruits have their own protection against decay.
Without damage:
- carefully inspect the cucumbers: there should be no damage on the skin, otherwise the fruits will begin to deteriorate very quickly.
Thick skinned:
- for long-term storage, ground cucumbers with a dense skin are more suitable than greenhouse ones.
well kept fruits of special varieties: ‘Kharkovsky’, ‘Nezhinsky’ and others.
Excellent keeping quality in long-fruited parthenocarpic varieties, such as:
- ‘Sadko’;
- ‘Unbearable 40’;
- ‘Local Nizhyn’;
- ‘Nezhinskiy 12’;
- ‘Competitor’;
- ‘Spruce’;
- ‘Parade’.
In our catalog, which combines the offers of various online stores of seeds and planting material, cucumbers are presented in a wide range – you can find suitable varieties for long-term storage here. Select cucumber seeds.
What cucumbers are not suitable
Trying to store such cucumbers is not worth it – just waste your time:
- watery fruits with thin skin;
- overgrown cucumbers. They lose all useful properties, and are no longer suitable for food. Better put them on blanks for the future;
Such fruits are not suitable for long-term storage.
- hothouse grades of fast maturing. You can only keep them for 3-4 days.
Now let’s move on to the methods.
In a refrigerator
I’ll show you a few simple but effective ways.
So cucumbers can be stored for several days
In the vegetable section:
Stored in the refrigerator (vegetable tray) for approx. 3 days, and it is not necessary to prepare them for such short-term storage.
In cellophane:
Cucumbers are placed in a plastic bag, covered with wet gauze. The top of the package is left open. Fruits packaged in this way can keep fresh for about 10 days.
On paper:
By wrapping each cucumber with a paper towel (napkin) and placing them in a plastic bag, you can keep the greens fresh for up to 2 weeks.
In water:
Keep cucumbers fresh 3-4 weeks can be in the water. To do this, cold water is poured into a bowl (or tray), partially (by 1-2 cm) the fruits are immersed in it with tails down, and the container is placed in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. The water needs to be changed once a day.
The secret of the method is as follows: as the fruits lose moisture, they will be able to compensate for its loss by absorbing water. For storage in this way, it is better to take cucumbers with dense dark green tuberculate skin.
In egg white:
Cucumbers are carefully washed, allowed to dry. Then coat them with egg white. A film forms on the peel, which will prevent the evaporation of moisture. Cucumbers are stored in a protein film in the refrigerator, on a shelf for vegetables.
Important. At low temperatures (below 0 ° C), cucumbers begin to soften quickly, mucus appears on them. Therefore, when sending cucumbers for storage in the refrigerator, make sure that they are not near the freezer.
In room
There are many ways to store indoors too!
How to store cucumbers indoors
In a box or crate:
This method will keep the fruits fresh. 2-3 day. Cucumbers are carefully placed in a cardboard box, plastic tray, wooden box or paper bag. The temperature in the room should be within + 10 … + 15 ° С, air humidity should be about 90-95%.
If the temperature is lowered to + 6 … + 8 ° С, cucumbers are able to keep freshness up to 10 days.
In wet tissue:
Wrap cucumbers in a damp cloth, store in a cold (+6 … + 7 ° C) room, moistening the cloth as necessary. So you can keep the freshness of the fruit for about a week.
Это важно! Regardless of how and where you store cucumbers, periodically, about once every 3 days, they must be inspected to remove damaged and lost freshness fruits.
How not to store cucumbers
In such ways, the freshness of cucumbers cannot be saved.
Packed in cellophane without air access:
Cucumbers, tightly wrapped in a plastic bag or film, will even lie in the refrigerator for about 2-3 days: without air, the fruits will “suffocate” and begin to rot.
Together with ripe fruits:
Any ripe fruits that emit ethylene, be it fruits (apples and others) or vegetables (tomatoes and others), cannot be stored together with cucumbers. Under the influence of ethylene, biochemical processes in cucumbers are accelerated and they begin to ripen quickly.
Unusual ways
There are many more amazing ways that make it possible to keep cucumbers fresh for a long time. True, for what period of time – there is no exact data. However, if there is an opportunity and desire, then why not try to use one of them? It is not for nothing that some of these methods were successfully used by our grandmothers and great-grandmothers, who managed to keep many perishable products fresh for a long time without a refrigerator.
In a pond:
If there is a pond, river or any other natural body of water nearby that does not freeze in winter, you can store cucumbers in it. Zelentsy put it in a small-mesh string bag made of synthetic material, hang the load from below, lower it into the pond, not forgetting to secure it well.
In sand:
Lay cucumbers in layers in earthenware, sprinkling them with well-washed, dried sand. Close the lid tightly and store in a cool room (cellar or basement). If possible, then bury the container in the cellar in the ground. According to the authors of the method, buried cucumbers are preserved longer.
In the well:
Put the cucumbers in a clean, dry bucket, cover them with a simple cloth on top and lower the bucket into the well so that its bottom slightly touches the water.
Zelentsy for long-term storage
In cabbage:
Perhaps one of the most original ways is storage in cabbage. Cucumbers are planted between rows of late varieties of cabbage. As soon as the ovary appears, small cucumbers, along with the lash on which they grow, are carefully placed between cabbage leaves as close to the stalk as possible. So they grow together with cabbage, only already inside the head. For storage, cabbage heads are lowered into a cellar or basement. They say that cucumbers in cabbage can last until the very of spring.
With vinegar:
A 3 mm layer of vinegar is poured onto the bottom of clean, dry enamelware. Then a stand with holes is installed inside so that cucumbers can be placed on it, and they do not touch the vinegar. The fruits are placed on a stand in several layers, tightly close the container, put in a cool room. In this way, you can keep the freshness of the fruit up to 1 month.
Have you tried storing fresh cucumbers for a long time? Tell us which method you chose, did the result disappoint you?
You may also find other posts about storing fruits and vegetables helpful:
