How to store pumpkin?

Many summer residents grow pumpkin on their plots because of its useful qualities and a good opportunity to keep it fresh for a long time. But in order to eat pumpkin porridge and desserts all winter and get the necessary vitamins, you need to know how to properly store pumpkin.

If you plan to store the pumpkin for a long time and at the same time grow a large harvest, and not 5-6 copies, you need to choose the varieties initially, intended for long-term storage. These may include late-ripening or mid-ripening varieties. It is for them that increased keeping quality is characteristic. It is better to refuse the early ripening ones for sure.

Let's take a look at some of them.

• "Kherson"... The mid-late variety is drought tolerant and loves warmth. Distinctive features of these fruits can be called a rather dense peel of a grayish shade and a slightly flattened shape. The orange pulp has a firm texture and a sweet taste.
• "Slavuta"... Harvesting of this late variety can be postponed to the end of September. You just need to carefully monitor the weather forecast so that the rains do not charge. Pumpkin has good immunity to various diseases. Therefore, there is a chance to preserve these fruits until spring.
• Ioannina. And a mid-season variety like this can be kept pretty good if done right. This pumpkin is oval-shaped, orange in color with green splashes, has a sweetish flavor and is not affected by powdery mildew, which is one of its undoubted advantages.
• "Gilea"... Refers to mid-season specimens and has a nutmeg flavor and yellow flesh. Thin peel does not allow vegetables to be stored for too long, but for a while, subject to general rules, this is quite possible.
• "Polyanin"... Cylindrical fruits with brown skin and sweet pulp are mid-season varieties. Often pumpkins of this variety are used to prepare baby food.
• "Vitamin"... Late-ripening butternut squash, recommended for planting in warm regions. The peel is yellow with green stripes. The shape of the fruit is oval, the flesh is sweet, orange. Ripe specimens reach a weight of 7 kg.

But this does not mean that only the listed varieties are capable of long storage. Not only do popular species exist, but new ones appear, more resistant to diseases, with good keeping quality.

If you plan to send the pumpkin for long-term storage, it is worth starting with the correct harvest. You should not rush to this event, but you also cannot postpone it for a long time. The optimal time is September. But the beginning or the end - you should be guided by the region of cultivation and the weather. Ideally, the pumpkin should be under the sun for the last days. If it rained, it is better to postpone the harvest until the sunny dry weather settles.

When collecting fruits, in no case should they be plucked, jerked or twisted. You need to cut them only with a sharp pruner, while leaving the stalk at least 5 cm.Then the pumpkin can be placed in a dry place where the sun's rays fall. Ideally, this is a veranda or terrace, or just a place under a canopy, but well-ventilated, illuminated for some part of the day. The pumpkin will dry out within a few days. In this case, the fruits must be placed in one layer on the surface, leaving a space between them.

After that, the remains of earth or dirt, if any, should be cleaned. But at the same time, this should be done with an exceptionally dry, soft, clean cloth. Do not use wet rags. At the next stage, the fruits are sorted out. Only the most beautiful and dense ones, without flaws, will go for storage. Pumpkin with dark spots, the slightest cracks, dents and even scratches are excluded immediately.

You can save the pumpkin in different rooms, but the main thing is that all the basic parameters are observed, among which temperature and humidity play a significant role. Let's consider them in more detail.

• First of all, the room should be dark. Sun exposure should be completely excluded. If this is not a cellar or basement, but, for example, a balcony, then the fruits should be sheltered from the sun.
• The storage room must be equipped with full ventilation or provide regular ventilation.
• The temperature should ideally be between +3 and +15 degrees. With a higher one, the risk of fruit rotting is not excluded, and with a minus pumpkin, they can freeze. Both will add hassle to the owner. We'll have to urgently process the crop.
• The optimum moisture content is considered to be between 75 and 80%. It is worth sticking to these limits to avoid mold and mildew.

You can store pumpkin at home in different rooms, the main thing is to observe all the parameters at which the vegetables will remain whole and fresh. Or you can harvest vegetables for the winter. Everyone chooses the most convenient option for themselves.

It is in the cellar that a constant cool temperature and a suitable humidity for the pumpkin are maintained.... There she will feel great and will last for several months. But before that, the cellar needs to be prepared. Remove unnecessary and possibly old products. Rinse floors and shelves, then dry and ventilate the area. Pre-racks can be treated with antifungal agents, this will make storage longer.

If you plan to place the pumpkin on wooden racks, you must first put paper or dry straw on them. In addition, the pumpkin can be placed in baskets or boxes. At the same time, placing several copies in one container, it is imperative to leave space between vegetables or lay paper between them. The fruits are laid with the stalks up.

All fruits should be periodically inspected for any damage. If a specimen begins to deteriorate, it must be removed from the cellar, since in this case there is a risk of contamination of other fruits.

It is impossible to keep a big harvest in the apartment. These may be just a few copies that are planned to be prepared in the near future, within, for example, a month. In any case, you need to find a dark, cool room for the pumpkin, for example, a pantry. There vegetables should be placed in boxes or baskets. Do not use cellophane bags, they will create a humid environment. But paper options are fine.

If vegetables are on shelves, use paper or straw as bedding.The room will have to be ventilated from time to time, and the vegetables should be carefully examined. If there is no pantry in the apartment and vegetables have to be stored in the room, it is worth finding a cool place. For example, near a balcony or on a windowsill. But condensation often accumulates in these places, and there is a risk that the pumpkin may get wet. Therefore, you can wrap it in linen and put it on some kind of support or bedding near the balcony.

In this case, of course, you need to regularly check how the vegetable is feeling... And if suddenly the skin becomes wet, you must wipe it dry, dry it, and then wrap it in a clean dry cloth and send it back for storage. There is an option for placing pumpkins on a balcony or loggia, but provided that they are glazed, well insulated, and the temperature does not drop below zero. If you need to keep the pumpkin on the balcony for a short time, just a couple of days, you can wrap it in a warm blanket and place it in a box, and only then put it on the balcony.

The pumpkin can also be stored in the refrigerator. But this is a rather large vegetable, so this option is not very convenient. At best, you can put a couple of pumpkins there. If these are cut vegetables, then the period of their stay in the refrigerator is greatly reduced. This can be 2-3 days on the strength, after which the fruits must certainly be heat treated: boil porridge, make a casserole, bake a pie, etc.

In addition, many pumpkins are used to make jam and compotes. All of these foods will still contain the vitamins that pumpkin has. But even cooked meals should be eaten fresh. It is definitely impossible to store them for a long time. Maximum - one day, with the exception of jam. If, nevertheless, there is a need to keep a fresh cut pumpkin, then each piece must be wrapped in a napkin or foil, but such packaging must be periodically changed. In this form, the vegetable can be stored for no more than a week. Pumpkin retains all its useful properties even after freezing. Therefore, you can safely send it to the freezer and not worry about the product spoiling.

The pumpkin should be well prepared beforehand:

• wash and wipe dry;
• peel the skin and remove all seeds with excess pulp, leaving only dense;
• cut into pieces and pack each into a separate container in the form of a container or bag.

There are several ways to defrost a pumpkin.

• The most successful and correct option - put the product on the refrigerator shelf, where it will gradually defrost within 9-10 hours.
• You can simply put the container in the sink and wait for it to defrost. Provided that there is no time to wait, you can put a bag of pumpkin in a container and put warm water there.
• Fastest option – use the microwave and a special mode "Defrosting".

There are many ways to save a pumpkin, and it will look different at the same time.... With the whole fruit, everything is clear, it needs coolness, darkness, constant observation. Halves, quarters and simply cut cubes and circles are perfectly stored in selected containers in the freezer. But there are other options, and at the same time, the products will still contain vitamins, albeit not in such quantities as if it were a whole fresh pumpkin.

• Drying... A very simple option to save a vegetable is to dry it. To do this, each copy is thoroughly washed, wiped, peels and seeds are removed. Then they are cut into slices and sent either to a special electric dryer, or laid out on a baking sheet and dried at a low temperature for several hours, constantly monitoring the process so that the slices do not burn. After that, it remains to let the pieces cool, put them in dry and clean containers.
• Brine... For this method, the pumpkin is pre-prepared, as in the first case. Then the pieces are placed in jars and poured with brine. Prepare it at the rate of two tablespoons of salt per liter of water.Then the jars are sterilized, the pumpkin is placed there, filled with brine and rolled up or simply sealed with plastic lids. At the same time, such products should still be stored in a cellar, garage or closet, where it is cool and out of the sun.
• Marinade... The pumpkin is again thoroughly washed, dried, freed from the peel and seeds, cut into slices. For the marinade, take a liter of water, one tablespoon of salt, one teaspoon of citric acid, three tablespoons of sugar. The marinade is boiled, and then pieces are poured into it, which are previously placed in pasteurized jars and twisted. It is also worth sending products to the cellar or pantry.

The length of time the pumpkin can be stored depends on the storage method.

• If the pumpkin is properly prepared, and the room meets all standards for temperature and humidity, then as a whole in a cellar or garage, the pumpkin can be stored for 7-8 months, subject to constant inspection, of course.
• In an apartment, these terms can be reduced and reduced to 2-3 months, if the vegetable is under the balcony or on the windowsill.
• Cut and peeled pumpkin can only stay more or less fresh in the refrigerator for a week. If she is just in the kitchen, then this time is limited to 8-10 hours, and then provided there is no direct sunlight and the temperature is not higher than 22 degrees.
• In the freezer, the shelf life is about six months, provided the product has not been thawed and re-frozen. You can, of course, keep it for longer. But the harvest is still being renewed, and there is no point in keeping the old stocks. If they remain by the time of the new harvest, it is better to clear them from the freezer and send fresh preparations there.
• Dry and canned versions can be stored for a year.

Keeping a pumpkin at home if all of the above conditions are met is not so difficult. But no one is immune from mistakes, so it is worth considering the most common of them.

• Late harvest... Sometimes unripe fruits are harvested, but for long-term storage this is bad. In addition, you must not pick vegetables if it rained before. You need to wait for sunny days and wait a week. Pumpkin harvested from wet beds rots faster.
• Improper storage preparation... Some, intending to keep the fruits whole, wash them. This cannot be done. With such manipulations, the pumpkin will soon deteriorate. After all, the natural protective layer is washed off, and this is a direct road to fungi and mold. Simply dry the pumpkin well and remove excess dirt with a dry cloth. When storing individual parts, on the contrary, the fruits must be thoroughly washed.
• Wrong location... Pumpkin storage parameters (humidity, temperature, lighting) must be observed. Otherwise, storage times will be minimal. In addition, it is necessary to have ventilated containers - boxes, baskets. Some of these conditions are not met, considering that they are not so important. And this is a mistake.
• Early varieties. The choice of mid and late maturing varieties is very important. They are intended for long-term storage, while the early ones should be eaten immediately after collection or for a very short time.

But even if all the conditions are met, all the fruits must be carefully examined. To understand that the pumpkin has gone bad, you need to pay attention to its appearance. If soft spots, spots or mold appear on it, you should immediately remove such a copy from the storage location, clean it, process it if possible (boil porridge, bake it) or throw it away.... In this case, the rest of the specimens must be sorted out and examined for infection.