Despite the availability of many more sophisticated vegetables, cucumbers are massively grown on flower beds, and they are in demand in stores all year round.
They are loved for uncomplicated but pleasant taste, for the ease with which they are processed in the stomach, for the meager caloric content. In cucumbers, more than 90% of water, so they do not save for a long time. But there are still ways to extend the freshness of vegetables.
How to store fresh cucumbers
Like most vegetables, fully ripened cucumbers last longer in a cool place - a refrigerator or basement.
Filling cucumbers with a refrigerator
For a small amount of fruit you can always find a place in the refrigerator. When there are a lot of them, and there is no place to place more, it is better to process cucumbers during the week - pickle or pickle. Otherwise, a significant amount of the product will have to be thrown away.
Easy peasy:
- Put unwashed cucumbers in a bag with holes for ventilation.
- Place the vegetables in the part of the refrigerator that is intended for them.
In such conditions, cucumbers will be able to remain fully fit for up to a week.
During the same time, vegetables will survive well, if:
- Put the cucumbers in glass containers.
- Close the polyethylene cover.
- Put on the middle shelf of the refrigerator.
You can save cucumbers in paper:
- Wrap each fruit with a paper towel or napkin.
- Put the cucumbers in a plastic bag.
- Put the packaging away from the freezer.
Vegetables lie down, retaining their healthy qualities and freshness, up to two weeks.
Fruits should be inspected periodically in order not to miss the appearance of rot. If any cucumber became too soft, turned yellow, slime appeared on it, it should be removed from the packaging immediately.
We use the basement
To accommodate a large number of cucumber basement is a very suitable place. But provided that it is dry and cool.
In the basement cucumbers will remain for at least a month. You need to do this:
- Place the fruit in a ceramic or enameled container.
- Pour cucumbers with dry sand.
You can wrap each cucumber in a napkin. So vegetables not only will remain, but also remain pure.
Other storage methods
In addition to the standard methods of cucumber conservation, you can use less popular ones.
In the water
- Fill a bowl or other container with cold water.
- Dip cucumbers with their tails down so that they are covered with liquid a couple of centimeters.
- Send the container to the fridge in the vegetable compartment.
If you change the water daily, the cucumbers will remain fresh for up to 3 weeks. Being partially in water, they compensate for the loss of moisture and do not dry out.
In this way, cucumbers are best preserved in which dense, tuberculate dark green peel.
In egg white
- Wash cucumbers thoroughly.
- Dry so that nothing remains of moisture.
- Protein chicken eggs loose and lightly beat.
- Cover them with the skin of each cucumber.
- Leave until fully frozen.
- Put the cucumbers in a bag of holes and place them in the fridge.
Protein film, wrapped cucumbers, prevents the evaporation of moisture and passes air. Therefore, vegetables are perfectly preserved for up to 3 weeks.
In vinegar
- Pour vinegar in a centimeter layer on the bottom of an enamel saucepan.
- Put the grate inside. It should be as close to vinegar as possible, but not touch it.
- Put cucumbers on top of the rack.
- Close the saucepan with a lid.
- Place the container in the refrigerator or cellar.
The vinegar will gradually evaporate, wrapping the vegetables in an invisible shell. It significantly slows down the rotting of cucumbers, and vegetables lie in good condition for up to two weeks.
In the well
The method is suitable for those who have preserved wells filled with clean water:
- Put the cucumbers in a clean and dry bucket.
- Cover with a towel or chintz.
- Lower the bucket into the well closer to the water. Its bottom should touch cool liquid slightly.
Storage features of fresh cucumbers
To preserve fresh cucumbers, it is important to comply with:
- Temperatures. When it is within 5-15 degrees of heat, vegetables can lie down from 4 days to a month.
- Air humidity. For cucumbers is best if it is 90-95%.
Fruits do not tolerate high humidity and dryness. Temperature drops are a factor that significantly reduces their shelf life. Therefore, it cannot be allowed to oscillate in one direction or another by more than 3-5 degrees.
If you keep cucumbers indoors warm and humid, they quickly rot. If the air is overdried, the vegetables lose water, become wrinkled outside, and inside are tasteless.
Sellers are aware of such features of cucumbers and other fruits, therefore, they are coated with wax.
Fruits from their own beds also have external natural protection. It is advisable to wash them only immediately before preparation.
Keep cucumbers away from ripe fruit. Pears, apples, bananas emit ethylene - a substance under the influence of which the fruits ripen faster.
What cucumbers do not store for a long time
Not all cucumbers are suitable for storage. There are varieties that are wiser to start eating right away. The fruits are badly preserved:
- Greenhouse varieties ripening faster than others. They can survive in the normal state for no more than 4 days.
- Watery, with thin skin.
- Overgrown. Cucumbers need to be removed from the garden on time. To miss the moment and to pick fruits in the over-matured state means to get a product in which there are few useful qualities.
Storing cucumbers for the winter
Nice to cook salads from fresh cucumbers. But you can save them in salted and pickled form much longer. There are dozens of ways to preserve cucumbers. Pickled or corned pickled vegetables are as tasty as fresh.
Fruits can be frozen - cut into rings or cubes, spread out in bags and send into the freezer. How exactly chop cucumbers depends on what dishes they are used for. For okroshka, vinaigrette, fruits should be cut into cubes, for salads and sandwiches - thin rings.
Thawed cucumbers will not be crunchy, as those that are just plucked from the garden, darken slightly, but remain tasty and fragrant.
Summer vegetable cucumber - a welcome guest on the table. Having made small preparations during the season, you can enjoy the light and pleasant taste of the product even every day.
