Mandarins can be bought at any time of the year, so there is no particular need for purchasing a large batch of this product.
But sometimes there are circumstances when it is necessary to preserve a certain amount of orange-flavored fruits as long as possible, and without losing their appearance and taste.
Connoisseurs of this citrus can accurately determine its variety and ability to store. But how to understand the simple man in the street and distinguish the Moroccan sweet tangerines, which are well preserve their qualities for a long time, from the Spanish with poor liking? It remains only to rely on your intuition or to recall the advice given by experienced people in this matter.
Therefore, if you decide to purchase these fragrant fruits and keep them until a certain time, you need to know a few simple rules:
- Mandarins must be strong, without any damage.
- There should be no blemishes on the peel.
- If the use of mandarins is supposed to be postponed for an indefinite time, then it is better to buy slightly unripe fruits, which still have time to ripen during storage.
- No voids should be felt under the skin. When looking at a mandarin, it is difficult to determine its ripeness, because varieties differ not only in the color of the rind and the shape of the fruit, but also in the taste of the pulp.
- If you take a tangerine in your hands and lightly press on the skin, sometimes it is felt that there is emptiness under it, and the skin itself seems to be separated from the pulp. On the one hand, it happens in ripe mandarins, but, on the other hand, they are suitable only for use in the near future, because they quickly disappear during storage.
- If the purchase is made in winter, the fruit should not be frostbitten.
- Sometimes mandarins are sold with short sprigs. It is believed that such fruits can lie for a long time and not deteriorate.
- Some determine the ripeness of mandarins by weight. Ripe and juicy fruit will be difficult. And the one that began to dry out from long storage is easier than it might seem. Such tangerines can not be stored for a long time.
How to properly store tangerines
The optimal temperature for storing tangerines is 6-8 ° C, and the air humidity is about 80%.
Such conditions can provide only a refrigerator.
However, even in the refrigerator tangerines must be properly placed. The most favorable place for them is a compartment for fruits and vegetables. But with the condition that there are no other products.
Dry, whole, strong, immature tangerines there will lie for 3-4 weeks with no signs of wilting.
In no case can not put them in a plastic bag, in which they simply choke and begin to disappear. Some housewives believe that at room temperature, tangerines do not spoil and feel great. Maybe. But only a short time. And then they gradually begin to dry, while the skin so adheres to the pulp that it is difficult to clean. And the juiciness in such tangerines is already a bit.
In winter, citruses can be stored on the balcony, if it is glazed and the temperature there does not fall below + 5 °. They are placed in boxes with small openings for air circulation and covered so that daylight does not fall on them.
How else can the shelf life of mandarins be extended
- Take strong tangerines with intact peel, first wipe them well with a dry soft cloth, and then smeared with vegetable oil. Clean in the fridge.
- Strong, slightly unripe tangerines are wiped dry, and then each fruit is wrapped in parchment paper. After that, they are placed in a large enamel pot and cover with a lid. Put in the fridge.
But no matter how the tangerines are stored, they need to be searched once a week to notice the slightest signs of damage on the fruit and to isolate it from other fruits in time.
