Autumn beauty of pumpkins is a storehouse of nutrients that our body needs so long on a cold winter.
Growing a pumpkin in the garden is easy: an unpretentious vegetable without any problems during the summer gains a few pounds of wonderful pulp.
The question of how to store pumpkin at home is much more complicated for the townspeople.
How to collect and where to store pumpkin
In fact, storing pumpkin fruits is also easy. The vegetable perfectly tolerates an average storage temperature of 5 to 15 degrees above zero, and for some varieties, a higher temperature is also comfortable. All that a pumpkin needs is a dry and cool room, the absence of direct sunlight. Under these conditions, the vegetable will be stored from 4 to 6 months ...
It is also important when and how exactly the pumpkins are collected. The ideal time is the end of September - mid-October. Vegetables should not fall under the first frost. Frozen pumpkins can go bad quickly. You cannot break off and damage the stalk: its optimal length should be from 7 to 10 centimeters.
Harvested pumpkin need to be dried in the sun for 5-7 days, and then sent for winter holidays. The rooms are categorically not suitable for storing pumpkins, moist and very cold, freezing in the winter months. Ideal conditions for the vegetable allows you to create a dry cellar, but if it is not there, it does not matter. Pumpkins are well stored in a regular city apartment.
How to store pumpkin in the cellar
In a good cellar, where it is dry, dark and cool, the pumpkin will feel completely comfortable and will not go bad until spring. Intact pumpkins are suitable for wintering. Therefore, carefully inspect vegetables for scratches, stains, or other damage.
To provide the pumpkin with the necessary conditions, you need to cover the shelves with dried fresh straw or a regular newspaper. Lay out the vegetables should the stalk up.
Important, so that they do not touch the barrels. Otherwise, the skin may deteriorate, causing rot.
From time to time, the condition of the vegetables will need to be checked. If you do not inspect the pumpkins, you can skip the beginning of decay. If the process is at the very beginning, it's okay.
How to store pumpkin at home
The storage of pumpkins in a city apartment is nothing complicated either. If there is a covered balcony, you can arrange vegetables for the winter there.
Pumpkins should be placed on the balcony in the same way as they are in the cellar. That is, the surface should be dry, lined with newspapers.
Pumpkins need to be spread out at some distance from each other (about 8-10 cm) and be sure to cover with a piece of clean cloth. This will protect vegetables from direct sunlight, which can destroy the crop. At a very low temperature, pumpkins must be covered with a warm old fur coat or blanket, otherwise they will freeze.
How to store a pumpkin at home if the balcony is not glazed or if it is not at all? In this case, for 2-3 months, you can simply put the vegetables in a dark pantry away from heating appliances or, in extreme cases, put them under the bed.
Alternative ways to store pumpkin
It is not necessary to keep the pumpkin whole. If there is not enough space in the apartment, you can use any of the alternative methods:
• freezing;
• drying;
• salting.
Frozen Pumpkin Slices - A great way to keep the crop. True, you need a big freezer. Wash the pumpkin, dry it, cut it into cubes and put it in plastic bags for freezing (they are more durable than ordinary packing bags). You can also place the pumpkin in plastic food containers. In a frozen form, pumpkins are stored for more than a year, without losing any benefit or taste.
Dried pumpkin saves space. You do not have to clog the freezer or look for where to fit whole vegetables. For drying, the fruits need to be washed, wiped with a dry cloth, cut off the skin and remove all the seeds. Cut the yellow pulp into thin slices no more than a centimeter thick and send on the sheet to the oven. Dry the vegetable for 7 hours at 60 degrees, then another 2 hours at a temperature of 70 degrees. Store the cooled pumpkin in a glass jar or linen bag. The room must be completely dry. Shelf life of dried pumpkin is at least a year.
Pumpkin pickling is easy. Five kilograms of vegetable pulp will need one and a half kilograms of salt. Pumpkin needs to be prepared in the same way as for freezing. Sterilize the banks. Dissolve half the norm of the salt in warm boiled water. Fold the pumpkin slices in a jar, pour brine, pour the remaining salt on top. Roll up the jar and put it in a dark pantry. All winter the vegetable will be stored at room temperature without any problems.
The secrets and tricks of storing pumpkin at home
Collect pumpkin on a dry sunny day. It is important not to damage the stem and not scratch the delicate top layer of the skin. If a scratch does appear, experienced gardeners recommend just sticking the damaged area with a bactericidal patch. It is such scratched specimens that need to be eaten first.
What to do if part of the pumpkin is eaten, and the rest needs to be saved until next time? Remove the peel, cut the remaining vegetables into slices and put in the refrigerator. Shelf life - no more than ten days. And if you wrap pumpkin slices in foil, then they will lie in the refrigerator for a month.
