Everyone knows about the benefits of such a garden crop as zucchini. This is an unpretentious plant that gives abundant yields even for a novice summer resident. And you can cook a lot of dishes from zucchini. Despite the fact that the vegetable is grown in the summer, it can be stored fresh for a long period, and there will be no particular difficulties.
Fruits can be stored both in the cellar and in a city apartment. And we will tell you how to do it right.
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Variety choice
Not all varieties of zucchini are suitable for winter storage; most are consumed shortly after harvest. But there are exceptions.
Vegetables of suitable varieties can have a number of features, due to which they are distinguished by increased keeping quality, good transportability:
- dry pulp;
- small seeds;
- thick skin.
Zucchini for long-term storage is cut from the bush before the moment of full ripening. The length of the stalk must be left more than 5 cm to protect the vegetable from rotting. The fruits, after being removed from the bush, are shaken off the ground, but they cannot be washed or wetted.
The following varieties are suitable: Negro, Anchor, Aeronaut, Arlika, Pear-shaped, Festival, Golden Cup, Diamant, Marquise, Yellow-fruited.
How to keep zucchini fresh for a long time
The optimal conditions for storing zucchini can be called temperature indicators in the range of + 5 ° … + 10 ° С and air humidity of about 80%. Such parameters are inherent in basements, cellars, but not every summer resident can boast of their presence. Therefore, we will describe other ways of storing fruits.
If you have a basement that does not freeze in the winter cold, in a house, in a country house or in a garage, then organizing a place to store a vegetable is as easy as shelling pears. It is necessary to cover the shelf allocated for zucchini with a 10 cm layer of straw and spread the fruits so that they do not touch each other. Wooden boxes adapted in the same way will do.
The room should be regularly ventilated and monitor the temperature.
If you don’t have a basement, but you live in an apartment, then there is a chance to keep the vegetable fresh for several months, but zucchini is unlikely to lie until spring. A wooden box is suitable for storage, which must be placed on an insulated balcony or next to the front door – in a place where the lowest temperature in the apartment. Straw should be placed in the box, and the vegetables should be laid out separately from each other. You can use cardboard partitions to separate the fruits, or you can wrap each with parchment.
If you have small stocks of zucchini, and you still want to keep them longer, you can do this with the help of a refrigerator. Each fruit must be placed in a separate paper bag and a few punctures should be made for ventilation in the package.
If you notice that the zucchini began to deteriorate
If during storage you notice that fruit flies began to spread around the room, the fruits began to leak, dry out or become moldy, you urgently need to sort out the crop and remove the damaged specimens. To prevent spoilage, you should regularly inspect your stocks.
As you can see, there is nothing difficult in long-term storage of zucchini. If you choose the right variety and provide optimal conditions, you can enjoy fresh zucchini dishes throughout the winter.
