It is difficult to get past the fragrant melon, so as not to buy it and not try. This gourd culture has an original honey taste, an incredible smell and contains many useful substances: beta-carotene, vitamins C, A, P, salts of sodium, iron and potassium.
Melon differs in that well quenches thirst. During the season, you need to enjoy this fragrant product more and make at least small preparations for the winter period.
Storing melons at home
Ripe melon at room temperature can retain its freshness for at least a week. Fruits can be placed in any room. They should be protected from direct sunlight, because they will accelerate the drying process. As a result, the outwardly ripe melon will lose a significant part of its taste, juiciness and flavor.
In the cut form the fruit needs to be stored in the refrigerator. But he can lie there for no more than three days. To preserve the freshness of the fruit, you must wrap the dishes with melon with cling film or transfer the pieces into a container and close the lid tightly.
If you leave the melon cut into slices in the refrigerator in the open form, it will spoil faster and become not so juicy.
At low temperatures, the fruit turns from useful to a harmful product, because ethylene begins to be produced in its pulp. With a significant amount of it can be poisoned by eating a seemingly absolutely fresh slice of melon. Therefore, cut fruit for a long time can not be stored in the refrigerator.
How to keep a melon for the winter
In order for the melon to be kept for more than one month, it is necessary to ensure the following conditions
- air temperature is from one to three degrees of heat;
- darkness;
- relative humidity not exceeding 85%.
Such a microclimate is retained in the cellar or basement, where the melon crop should be placed.
For storage, select slightly undisturbed fruit. It is desirable that there were no visible damage.
How long a melon can be preserved depends on its variety:
- late fruits will lie for four to six months; dense melon pulp and significant pectin content contribute to this;
- early varieties - no more than 30 days;
- The mid-season melon will last well for up to four months.
If the fruits ripen in their own garden, they must be picked a week before ripening. Remove the melon should be together with the stem, which is approximately three centimeters in length. It is advisable not to cut the fruits, but pick them manually.
It does not hurt to hold a melon under the sun for three days before sending it to the basement, turning it twice a day. If the weather is good, the fruit is useful to lie on the garden and longer.
You can store melons as follows:
- Attach each fruit to a net or canvas bag and hang on racks with crossbars. It is necessary to ensure that the surface of the container does not crash into the skin of the melon and does not damage it. Fruits should not be in contact with each other.
The number of melons that can be arranged in this way depends on the size of the basement or cellar.
- Lay the melons upright on the racks. They are equipped in three or four tiers half a meter one above the other. Under the melons should be placed litter of straw, sawdust or chaff.
Fruits should be inspected periodically. Those of them that spoiled, it is better to select and use.
It is undesirable to store melons near potatoes and apples. Under the influence of vegetables, the fruits acquire an unpleasant, earthy smell and rot. The ethylene produced by the fruit accelerates the ripening of the melons.
If you store the fruit in the refrigerator, they will keep freshness no more than a month.
Storing frozen melons
It is wise to keep the melon frozen in a refrigerator. It is prepared in this way:
- Cut the melon in half and remove the skin.
- Cut the pulp into strips approximately centimeter thick. Length - up to 4 centimeters, width - up to 2 cm.
- Arrange the fragrant pieces on a platter or baking tray in one layer so that there is a small distance between them.
- Place in the freezer for an hour or two until it is completely frozen.
- Pack the pieces in portion plastic bags and send them back to the freezer.
In this condition, the melon will remain until the new harvest. Instead of strips of pulp, you can make balls and freeze them as well.
How to properly store immature melon
Slightly immature melon will be able to reach it, after lying for a while. Too green fruit will not fully ripen. Its taste will differ from the taste of those melons that are completely ripped off.
To bring the fruit to the desired condition, you can:
- Lay the melons on a soft surface in a dark room. In a few days they will mature.
- Wrap the undersized fruit in paper or cloth and place in the refrigerator away from the freezer. In this form, the melon will lie for about a week and will also fully mature.
Useful tips for storing melons
In order to enjoy honey taste of melon longer and more, it is necessary to take into account such nuances:
- It is impossible to store fruits even with the slightest signs of rotting. The peel must be whole, and the fruit - not crushed and not beaten. Melons with similar defects are wiser to eat immediately.
- If there are a lot of melons, it is important to place them at a distance from one another, to make a strip of paper or sawdust. Fruits should not touch.
- When melons lie on a soft surface, it protects them from the appearance of dents and rotting, which can be noticed not immediately.
- Fruits are stored in boxes on the balcony. It is advisable to fill them with sand by half or three quarters. This will slow down the process of moisture evaporation and prevent the fruits from drying out.
- The cut melon should not be left on the table, as it will quickly wither. It is better to put it in the fridge.
- It is impossible to store melon in direct sunlight or near heating devices.
- Fruits need oxygen, so they should be placed in a room that is well ventilated.
The melon is also dried and made from it tasty and unusual jam.
Observing simple rules and taking into account the methods of storing melons, one can enjoy fragrant fruits not one month after the harvest. And later Central Asian varieties will be able to regale themselves almost until the end of winter.
