The fruits and vegetables that we buy or pick from the garden in the summer need to be stored somewhere. Of course, it is better to try to eat them fresh, or to equip competent storage places in country estates. But what if this is not possible?
Refrigerator comes to the rescue
Not all fruits and vegetables keep well in the refrigerator. You have probably seen how quickly bananas become covered with black spots in the cold and cucumbers “damp”. So it is better to place both bananas and cucumbers in a clean container, where for several days room temperature they are quite capable of holding out. And if you still wrap the legs of bananas with polyethylene, with which they are linked to each other, then you can store them for a whole week. By the way, if you put slightly dried cucumbers with wrinkled skin into water, cutting off the "butt", then they will quickly restore their lost shape.
In the refrigerator, you can put the following vegetables and fruits for short-term storage: grapes, eggplant, very ripe pears, green pea in pods, zucchini, fresh white cabbage, carrots, sweet bell peppers, radishes and turnips, beets, beans, mushrooms and apples. At the same time, the lower temperature limit at which these vegetables and fruits are ready to be stored should not fall below + 8 ° C, and the upper one should not exceed + 13 ° C.
As for greens: lettuce, leek, dill, celery, parsley, basil, cilantro, they are stored in the refrigerator, wrapped in a wet towel or just cotton cloth, and on top - in polyethylene or foil. In vegetable boxes, such greens will feel great for quite a long time.
Delicate berries: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, currants, strawberries in the refrigerator will last a maximum of a day. And this is if the berries are stored unwashed and in bulk containers, where they are laid out in a thin layer. Sweet cherries, cherries, gooseberries are less capricious, and lie in the refrigerator on the “warmest” shelf for three days. Ripe started watermelon is also better to send in the cold. Whole watermelons are perfectly stored just on the floor in the pantry or on the balcony.
What not to put in the fridge
Do not keep potatoes in the refrigerator. Firstly, it takes up a lot of space, and secondly, potatoes are perfectly stored in a clean box in the cellar or pantry, that is, in places where it is relatively cool, always dry and dark. The same goes for garlic and onions. Just do not put onions next to potatoes: this neighborhood leads to quick spoilage of root crops.
It is also not recommended to put tangerines, oranges and lemons in the refrigerator. These fruits are delicate, and low temperatures are detrimental to them.
Store tomatoes on the table, on the windowsill, in the vegetable drawer, but not in the refrigerator. Otherwise, you will have to eat something watery, with a loose structure and almost tasteless. The same applies to cucumbers.
But the most correct thing is to bring home vegetables and fruits exactly as much as you can eat or use for harvesting.
The availability of fresh products is no longer dependent on the time of year. Traditionally, New Year's tangerines can be safely bought in the store in mid-July.
Often you can’t walk up for shopping, so we have collected information on how to properly store fresh vegetables and fruits, so that they lie for a long time and do not deteriorate.
Many products are sold unripe. For example, plums, peaches and bananas do not put in the refrigerator - let them ripen in a vase on the table.
As long as their peel is not damaged, they can lie perfectly for at least a few days. apples and bananas it is worth storing separately, as they emit ethylene - a gas that stimulates the ripening of fruits.
Broccoli, cauliflower, radish, celery, corn and carrots should be stored in separate plastic bags. Poke holes to let the fruits breathe and put them in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator, the coldest part of the freezer compartment.
Cucumbers, peppers and zucchini it is necessary, on the contrary, to put it in the warmest part of the refrigerator on the top shelf, where the temperature is positive. It also makes sense to place them in perforated plastic bags.
In stores selling fruits and vegetables, favorable conditions have been created for storing fruits, because they quickly disappear, which means that the director may lose a significant share of the proceeds. Such care for products is beneficial for the consumer, because only properly preserved fruit and vegetable crops are enriched large quantity vitamins and beneficial nutrients.
Technologists are constantly studying how to slow down the processes of decay and spoilage of fruits. Storage technology primarily depends on the present state of the products. For example, if they are not ripe, it is necessary to ensure a ripening process similar to that in gardens and fields.
Modern methods of storing fruits and vegetables
Technologists who are well versed in how to effectively, long-term storage vegetables and fruits, can offer one of the existing options:
- build high-quality ventilation of increased power in the warehouse, then the fruits will not rot and rot;
- perhaps there is not enough refrigeration equipment in the room, designed for large square meters;
- the microbiological purification and air disinfection system has a good effect on fruit and vegetable crops.
The solution of issues related to the long-term storage of horticultural products requires further study and fundamental research. Methods and processes are constantly being improved, but so far mankind has not learned how to do without constant air circulation and refrigeration equipment.
By the way, we adopted the desire to stock up from our four-legged friends, only they bury the bones in the ground, and we bring food home and place it on the shelves of the refrigerator. Almost nothing changes from year to year. A certain breakthrough in storage technology can be considered wireless cooler bags, which are designed to keep cold temperatures inside the structure like a thermos.
Modern refrigerators also do not stand aside - now different systems offer several levels of food cooling. Technologists note the importance of keeping products in the best condition for 2 reasons:
- Improving the technology minimizes cases of poisoning by missing dishes.
- Fruits and vegetables are the foundation healthy eating, so you need to eat them every day, which means that purchase and storage for a long period remain almost the most necessary. For entrepreneurs, this approach is beneficial in that they do not have to travel for fruit and vegetable crops too often, which means they can save on transport costs and earn more.
Storage temperature of fruits and vegetables
Even when storing vegetables and fruits at home, it is important to know what temperature is optimal for each type of food. There are 2 benchmarks:
- relative humidity;
- temperature.
We asked technologists for data on how to keep the most common fruits and vegetables on long term. At the same time, a new crop is taken into account, properly packed, sorted and placed in the necessary warehouse storage, which can be a cold storage facility, storage for fruits, or a chamber for vegetables.
For ease of use of information, the information is placed in a tabular form. The recommended temperature values are taken from the textbooks of American universities that train and graduate qualified young professionals. The times of the USSR are famous for the high standard of GOSTs, which determine the optimal storage conditions for fruits and vegetables, which is also indicated in the table below.
Approximate temperature for storing vegetables and fruits - table
| Name of fruits (vegetables) | Storage conditions (temperature) |
| ripe avocado | from plus 3 to plus 13 degrees |
| unripe avocado | from plus 7 to plus 10 degrees |
| artichoke | 0…+2 degrees |
| eggplant | +7…+12 degrees |
| broccoli | within 0 degrees |
| swede | within 0 degrees |
| mushrooms | within 0 degrees |
| green pea | +0.5…+2 degrees |
| summer squash | +5…+10 degrees |
| winter squash | +10 degrees |
| early cabbage | -0.5…+0.5 degrees |
| late cabbage | 0…+1 degree |
| Brussels sprouts | around 0 degrees |
| Chinese cabbage | around 0 degrees |
| early potatoes | +3…+10 degrees |
| late potato | +3…+10 degrees |
| sweet corn variety | around 0 degrees |
| onion | -2 to +2 |
| green onion variety | 0…+1 |
| carrot | -0,5…+0,5 |
| cucumbers | +7…+13 |
| parsnip | about 0 |
| squash | from 0 to +10 |
| sweet pepper variety | +7…+13 |
| hot pepper variety | from 0 to +10 |
| unripe tomato | +10…+21 |
| ripe tomato of any variety | +7…+21 |
| early spring radish | about 0 |
| winter radish variety | about 0 |
| turnip | about 0 |
| green turnip species | about 0 |
| beet | from 0 to +2 degrees |
| pumpkin | within +10…+13 degrees |
| dried beans | +4…+10 degrees |
| cauliflower variety | within 0…+1 degree |
| Fruit | |
| apricot | -1…0 degrees |
| quince | -1…+0.5 degrees |
| a pineapple | +7…+13 degrees |
| orange | from -1 to +10 degrees |
| watermelon | +2…+21 |
| banana unripe | +13…+21 |
| ripe banana | +13 to +16 |
| grape | -1…+2 |
| cherry | -0,5…+2 |
| blueberry | from 0 to +1 |
| Garnet | -3 to +10 |
| grapefruit | +10…+16 |
| pear | -2…0 |
| melon | within 0…+13 degrees |
| blackberry | 0…+1 |
| strawberries | within 0 |
| kiwi | from 0 to +2 |
| cranberry | +2…+6 |
| Strawberry | 0…+0,5 |
| lime | +9…+13 |
| lemon | +2…+14 |
| raspberry | -0,5…0 |
| mango | +10…+13 |
| mandarin | 0…+8 |
| nectarine | -0,5…0 |
| peach | -1…0 |
| plum | -0,5…+1 |
| currant | -0,5…0 |
| persimmon | 0…+2 |
| sweet cherry | -1…+2 |
| blueberry | 0…+2 |
| prunes | -0,5…0 |
| an Apple | -1…+4 |
| gooseberry | -1…0 |
What fruits and vegetables can not be combined with each other
Not all fruits can be stored nearby. There are completely incompatible vegetables and fruits, which, on the contrary, contribute to the emergence of negative factors that cause:
- speedy damage to each other;
- release of nutrients;
- loss of vitamins;
- odor absorption.
On the basis of compatibility, fruits and vegetables are placed according to the following rules:
- you can not put an avocado next to an apricot, otherwise the latter will kill the pleasant aroma of the first;
- it is unacceptable to spread onions along with figs, grapes, mushrooms, corn;
- most fruits and vegetables do not tolerate the neighborhood with polyethylene, not to mention the storage of food in plastic bags.
How to lower the storage temperature of fruits and vegetables
Even if fruits and vegetables are kept in refrigeration equipment, this does not mean that the temperature cannot be influenced. The cooling efficiency increases many times if you increase the air circulation blowing over the products. This method became the basis for forced air cooling, which is used by many cold stores today.
The essence of the principle is to make the cooled air masses move faster due to a high power rotating fan. In this case, it is important to follow the rule of the sequence of laying fruits.
Sometimes the refrigerator needs to be refurbished to be efficient, but if the refurbishment is not economically viable for the owner, cheaper cooling options are used. They can be portable and mobile forced air cooling devices. What needs to be done is to minimize water loss from fruits and vegetables.
How the cooling system works:
- Drying of cold air in the equipment.
- At this time, water vapor condenses on the evaporator, which reduces the humidity in the room. As a result, the product loses a certain percentage of moisture.
Another option for cooling fruits and vegetables is by hydrocooling, where the heat is released faster than with the forced method.
The entire summer season is spent in the beds in an attempt to grow a rich harvest of vegetables and fruits. But when it comes time to harvest, not everyone knows how to keep fruits and vegetables fresh for a long time.
There are little tricks in which you can be content with your harvest until spring.
Of course, the whole process is based on maintaining the optimum temperature. So, potatoes are our second bread, and many people stock them up for the winter, but not many people keep them for a long time, as we would like. Optimum temperature storage of potatoes is + 2-3 ° C, it can be achieved by special facilities, insulated boxes, store vegetables on glazed balconies if you do not have cellars and cellars. If the temperature is three degrees higher than it should be, then the potato will begin to germinate, and if it drops, it will acquire a sweetish taste.
In addition, the second storage condition is air humidity, for potatoes it should not be low.
That is why it is necessary to think about the room where you are going to store potatoes in the summer, insulate it if necessary, dry it well and ventilate it.
Storage of carrots and cabbage
Carrots must be stored in a box covered with sand.
It is very difficult to save carrots, as they require increased attention. After cleaning it from the garden, in no case should it be washed, as this can lead to the development various diseases. It is placed in boxes and sprinkled with sand or onion peel and cleaned in the cellar or on the balcony, where the temperature should be from +2 to +4 ° C.
Most the right way preservation of carrots - grind it or cut it into cubes and put it in the freezer.
Cabbage can be stored in the cellar in limbo.
Cabbage is stored at a lower temperature, closer to 0°C with deviations of +/-1°C. It can be stored in the refrigerator, in insulated boxes on the balcony, shelves or hanging in the cellar. You can use a newspaper and wrap each head of cabbage and lay it at a short distance from each other in a cool place. Of course, the best place to store cabbage is the cellar, as there winter period the most favorable conditions for storing cabbage: high humidity, low temperature and good ventilation. The floor on which you will lay the cabbage in the nets must be covered with oilcloth to prevent it from coming into contact with the ground or other dirty surface.
When storing cauliflower, the same conditions are created. The only thing is that you can’t put cauliflower in nets; for each head it should be separate in order to increase air access. Each grid should be hung from the ceiling - so cauliflower will stay fresh longer.
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Storing Beets, Onions and Garlic
There are no problems with storing beets, you can do the same with carrots, sprinkle them with sand and put them in a cool place where the temperature is + 2-4 ° C. That is, a cellar or basement is a good place to store it. Beets are better preserved than carrots and potatoes, with proper harvesting from the beds and selection of maturing varieties. by the most the best option for storage of beets is its joint presence with potatoes. You need to sprinkle beets on top of it, and it will absorb excess moisture released by the potatoes, thereby protecting it from waterlogging.
To preserve garlic and onions, they must first be dried well and placed in cloth or paper bags and stored on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Onions can also be stored at room temperature in well-ventilated crates or boxes that need to be perforated for good ventilation. Another true and old way of storing a bow is to braid it if it has feathers left after harvesting and hang it up. The optimum storage temperature for onions and garlic is between 0 and +6°C. But keep in mind: if you correctly removed the garlic and onions from the garden, then the shelf life will be extended.
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Storage of pumpkin and perishable products
Pumpkin and zucchini can also be stored, their storage temperature is +6-12°C. A prerequisite for long-term storage of zucchini and pumpkin is a dry room, otherwise sores appear on their surface, which lead to product spoilage.
And, perhaps, the most perishable vegetables are tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and eggplants. Save them to fresh succeeds not so long as the above vegetables. So, unripe tomatoes are best stored in boxes at room temperature, where they are stacked in three layers. Layers can be sprinkled with peat or sawdust, as they ripen, the fruits are moved and the ripened fruits are removed to a cooler place, but not in the refrigerator, where the tomatoes lose their taste qualities and quickly fall into disrepair. The main secret quick and uniform ripening of tomatoes is their harvesting from the garden along with the stalks.
But cucumbers are best stored in the refrigerator, they can be placed in a vacuum container on the bottom shelf. So, at a temperature of 0 to 1 degree, cucumbers can lie for only about 20 days.
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Storing Bell Peppers and Eggplant
Bulgarian pepper in biological maturity is stored in the refrigerator, it is placed in plastic bags, in which it is necessary to make small holes for ventilation. If you have a rich harvest of pepper and it did not have time to ripen, then we put it in boxes and store it at room temperature, while monitoring the ripening process. As soon as ripe peppers appear, they must be removed from the common box so that the gas they release does not speed up the ripening process of other fruits. And it is best to freeze the pepper, while it will retain its taste and useful qualities.
Eggplants also spoil quickly and do not allow us to enjoy them on cold winter days. Eggplant should be stored in a dark place at temperatures up to + 2 ° C. Under such conditions, eggplants are stored for a little more than a month. It is not recommended to store them in the refrigerator, as they quickly become unusable there. You can wrap each eggplant with paper and put it on a shelf or in boxes and put them in a dark and cool place.
An important condition for long-term storage of vegetables is the careful selection of all vegetables for storage: only healthy, unaffected vegetables are selected. Thus, if you monitor the storage process and remove spoiled vegetables in time, you can extend the shelf life.
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There is nothing complicated in the proper storage of fruits, the main thing is to follow some basic rules. They are in the following points:
- fruit quality;
- suitable storage space;
- purity;
- separate content.
Quality fruits are one of the most important components of long-term fruit storage. The fruit must be picked by hand and must not be rotten or damaged.
An absolutely suitable place to store fruit is a well-ventilated, cool, rodent- and insect-proof room. Ideal if it is a cellar, basement or garage.
In addition, humidity is of great importance, which ideally should be around 80%. The most suitable temperature in winter is from 1 to 4°C, in spring and summer it should not exceed 12°C. Fruits should not freeze, because in this case they will lose vitamins, as well as taste and smell.
The cleanliness of the premises is a matter of course. If this is a cellar or basement, then it is advisable to disinfect and whitewash the walls. Wash and dry shelves and containers in which food will be stored.
It is good if the fruit boxes are sealed, but do not forget about their need for regular airing.
Separate storage is very important for some types of fruit, especially apples and pears, as they easily take on other odors. Moreover, apples release ethylene, which leads to accelerated ripening of other fruits. Some fruits, such as bananas, can easily spoil other types of fruits.
Where can you store fresh fruit?
In the dry zone, room temperature reaches about 18-20°C with characteristic low humidity. At home, fruits are most often stored on shelves in kitchen cabinets or in the pantry. This is an ideal place for dried fruits, but fresh fruits will not lie here for a long time.
The cold zone is a room with a temperature of 12°C and slightly high humidity. It could be, for example, a basement. It is great for successfully storing both fruits and vegetables.
If you do not have a basement at home, then the fruits can be stored on the balcony.
The cooled zone is a refrigerator, the temperature in which should be in the range from 0 to 5°C. Here the best place for those fruits that you are going to process into compote or consume within a few days. The coldest fruit storage area is considered to be freezer. In it, frozen fruits can lie for a very long time, but to the detriment of their beneficial properties.
In fridge
Today, almost every home has a refrigerator. With the advent of this unit, we have long forgotten that some products can be stored outside the refrigerator. Moreover, some types of fruits categorically do not tolerate cold. For example, citrus fruits, bananas and all tropical fruits cannot be stored in it.
It is best to put fruits there that you did not eat the day before and are going to do it in the near future. It is better to put too ripe fruits in the refrigerator, because only he can save them.
Of the frost-resistant fruits, strawberries can be noted, they are not afraid of frost and therefore the refrigerator will be the most comfortable place to store them. The berry can safely lie there for several days, packed in small baskets. It is best to divide the strawberries into several parts so that they do not spoil.
In addition to strawberries, fruits such as apples, grapes, ripe pears can be stored in the refrigerator. In this case, the lower temperature limit should not be lower than 8 ° C, and the upper one - above 13 ° C. Sweet cherries, cherries, raspberries, currants, blackberries, blueberries and other berries can lie on the topmost shelf for no more than two or three days.
On the kitchen
The most popular fruit today is the apple. It can be seen on the table in almost any home. This fruit is ideally stored on clean wooden shelves so that the fruits do not touch each other. Leave a little space between the containers for air. This will allow the apple to ripen faster.
The storage place should not be heavily ventilated, as the fruit will quickly begin to dry out.
Pears can be stored in the same way as apples. Citrus fruits - lemons, oranges, grapefruits and others stay relatively fresh for a long time if wrapped in newspaper, placed in a box and stored in a cool and dark place.
How to store fruits at home
How to store unripe fruit at home
For many fruit growers and traders, the favorite fruit is often the one that is able to ripen outside of natural conditions without loss of taste and quality. These fruits include apples, bananas and pears. Some fruits can also be ripened at home, but their taste will be significantly different from those fruits that ripen on a tree. This applies to pineapples, apricots, peaches and nectarines.
It is advisable to buy plums exclusively ripe, since, most often, they do not ripen at home and remain unripe.
Unripe peaches should be stored at room temperature for 2 weeks to a month, depending on the degree of ripeness.
How long and at what temperature can exotic fruits be stored
Exotic fruits are usually bought unripe and left to ripen at home. How long it takes the fruit to ripen depends on the conditions under which they will be stored. Their ripening can be accelerated by an apple that releases a special substance.
Simply put an avocado or mango in a paper bag along with an apple and leave it for a few days at room temperature. Pineapple ripens within 2-3 days.
Uneaten fruit must be wrapped in cling film and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
In no case should bananas be stored in the refrigerator; the temperature for their ripening and storage should not be lower than 14 ° C. If the fruit is stored at a low temperature, it will adversely affect its taste and texture. ripe banana you will recognize by the characteristic brown spots on the peel, this indicates the presence of fructose. Unripe bananas are hard to digest and have a starchy taste.
Dried fruits
If you regularly consume dried fruits, you should know that they have special conditions for proper storage. The most important thing for this product is humidity and heat. Therefore, it is best to store dried fruits in a dry place at a temperature not exceeding 10-12°C.
If you have stocked up on a large amount of drying, then it must be washed and dried again in the oven. This will help to avoid the risk of mold, which mainly affects under-dried fruits. Choose a special container for storing the product. Best fit glass jars or cotton bags. Don't forget about expiration dates. Dried fruits cannot be stored for more than a year.
In autumn, it's time to think about how to save fruit and stock up on a dose of vitamins for the winter. The most common ways are:
- Freezing.
This method is widespread not only in our country, but also in the USA, where 20 million families resort to freezing fruits without fear of losing their nutritional value;
- Canning.
It's comfortable and not very difficult process. In order to preserve your favorite fruits with high quality and tasty, you just need to follow certain rules;
- Drying.
Although the fruit loses some vitamins, flavor, and color during this process, it is one of the most popular ways to preserve fruit.
- Do not wash fruits before putting them in the refrigerator.
- Remember that not all foods need to be stored in a cold place, so they will stay fresh longer.
- If fruits are wrapped in cling film, their shelf life will increase significantly.
- Such useful fruits like grapes are best eaten right away.
