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Winter is a difficult time for housewives. I want to cook a lot of delicious vegetable dishes, but it’s not the season. Therefore, you have to carefully study ways to store your favorite foods. Much attention is paid to sweet carrots.
It is considered the leader in the amount of nutrients during long-term storage, so the issue of its preservation in winter is very relevant. It is included in the recipes of various dishes - first, second, appetizers, salads. Canned products cannot provide a complete diet; we have to look for a way to preserve vegetables in the winter without canning.
If you are the owner of a good basement, then storing carrots It won't be much of a problem. But if, besides the refrigerator, there are no other cool rooms in the apartment, then certain knowledge will be needed. Root vegetables can be stored in the refrigerator, but some nuances will have to be taken into account.
Learning to store carrots in apartment conditions
First you need to dwell on the issue of harvesting. This worries those gardeners who themselves grow juicy carrots for storage. Keeping quality directly depends on its proper collection.
Things to consider:
- Cleaning time.Collected root vegetables will require drying, so dry and warm weather is the best option.
- Digging method. Gardeners have found digging with a blunt pitchfork to be the best method. And it’s better after preliminary loosening of the row spacing.
- The need to dry and peel carrots, remove tops.
When all the steps are completed, we begin preparing the vegetable for storage in the refrigerator.
To do this, we sort through the root vegetables cleared from the soil. It is necessary to select intact ones, not damaged, without signs of rotting or deterioration. There are several ways to store carrots in the refrigerator. How long will it retain its characteristics when stored in the refrigerator? It depends on the method you choose.
The easiest way is to store it in plastic bags. Preparing carrots takes a little time. Root crops are cleaned of soil residues, sorted to remove damaged ones and placed in a film bag.
The second option involves additional washing and drying of the carrots before packaging.
Third - washed and peeled root vegetables without drying are immediately put into bags and placed in the refrigerator. It is immediately worth noting that the shelf life with this method is significantly reduced and is 14 days.
Fourth - chopped root vegetables are stored in the freezer.
Important tips for storing root vegetables in the refrigerator
It is important for the housewife to know how to properly store carrots in a refrigerator. This knowledge will help you enjoy quality vegetables longer while maintaining their nutritional properties. Therefore, taking into account all the nuances of storage, you will be able to feast on juicy carrots for several months or use them when preparing dishes.
It is best to use vacuum plastic bags when storing carrots in the refrigerator. Root vegetables should not be washed. Otherwise, they will not be preserved for more than two weeks.
The filled bags are placed in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf. If you haven’t washed the carrots, you can keep them for 2 months. And then, the accumulated carbon dioxide will lead to damage to the root crops, and they will have to be removed.
Stretch film will help prevent carrots from rotting quickly in the refrigerator. The carrots are washed and trimmed. Then each fruit is tightly wrapped in film and placed so that two adjacent ones do not touch each other. How long carrots will last with this storage method depends on the temperature in the refrigerator. But the average is 3-4 months.
A plastic container is another storage option. These are convenient containers in which the necessary storage conditions for carrots are created. Root vegetables are tightly packed and placed in the refrigerator on the lowest shelf.
Chopped root vegetables are placed in plastic bags, placed in the freezer and taken out as needed. This option is very convenient for preparing main courses and soups. Grind the root vegetables in a food processor, grate them, and cut them into cubes.
For each dish, the desired characteristics are selected. It is best to pack pieces of different configurations separately, which will simplify further preparation of dishes with carrots. These carrots are stored very well all year until the new harvest.
We already know how to store carrots in the refrigerator. It remains to consider some subtleties.
Choose varieties that have good shelf life. This characteristic is very important for a refrigerator.
Cool the root vegetables slightly before placing them in a plastic bag. This way, you will avoid the rapid appearance of condensation.
Regularly sort through the fruits to remove damaged ones in a timely manner.
Do not defrost frozen root vegetable pieces before cooking. It is not necessary. This will not affect the cooking time of the dish.
Do not store carrots in open bags or without packaging. In this case, it will be stored very little.
