How to store cabbage?

Cabbage is one of the most useful and affordable products in our country. Shop counters are pleased with a variety of types and the pleasant price, and the unpretentiousness of a vegetable provides simple independent cultivation. Another advantage of the product is its long shelf life, but for this you need to comply with certain conditions. This is important, because only with proper storage cabbage will save all its benefits.

Cabbage is a part of a wide variety of dishes, including soups, main dishes, and salads. Cabbage can be stewed, pickled, pickled, sour, used as a filling for pancakes and pies. Of course, it is better to use this product raw, but the thermally processed vegetable also retains its beneficial substances. And there are a great many of them in one head - potassium salts, phosphorus, sugar, fats, fiber, phytoncides, enzymes and vitamins. That is why - it is a constant ingredient in the diet of supporters of proper nutrition.

Housewives know that to store sauerkraut enough to maintain the correct temperature, but how to keep fresh cabbage is not even known to all gardeners and summer residents.

Before storage, you need to carefully sort out the cabbages and eliminate the defective ones. Drying and freezing are considered popular storage options. In both cases, the cabbage should be chopped or chopped.

As well as frozen, dried cabbage saves all useful properties, but still these methods are more suitable for other varieties. The white-glazed version will lose its appearance when frozen.

Common methods include storing with roots. Suitable for long-term placement of the vegetable at any temperature, except for the refrigerator. You can dip the cabbage into the clay entirely, so that even the sheets are hidden and left in a dark place with good ventilation.

After such drying, the plants are hung up by their roots to the ceiling during storage.

With this method of storage heads are placed in the refrigerator. This is not the preferred method, as the cabbage fades quickly. In order for it to last fresh for a long time, you need to systematically remove the top dried leaves.

Selected fresh cabbages are packed in cling film and put in the fridge - so the vegetable can be stored for much longer.

If you plan to keep white cabbage until spring, it is better to initially grow the following varieties:

• "Wintering";

• "Gingerbread Man";

• "Krumon".

Difference of the specified grades is the big weight of heads, reaching 4 kg. Trying cabbage, taken from the garden, does not work, because the vegetable has a bitter taste, only after storage the plant will acquire taste. For some varieties, the minimum storage time is 2 months, for others - 4.

As the name implies, the hardiest is “Wintering”. This variety has a long growing season, which is 20 weeks after planting. The leaves are slightly cast in a blue-green color and have a waxy coating. This species can be stored for up to 7 months, during which time cabbages become resistant to cracking and point necrosis.

Also, when choosing a variety that is more suitable for storage in the winter, you should look at the middle-late and late varieties. These include the following varieties:

• "Valentine";
• "Orbit";
• Mariana;
• "Wizard";
• "Olympus";
• "Quartet".

Pay attention also to the following varieties of white cabbage, their shelf life and benefits:

• "Glory":
  • ripens in 3-4 months;
  • reaches a mass of 5 kg;
  • characterized by good yield;
  • can be stored for a maximum of 3 months.

• "Krümon F1":
  • ready after landing for collection after 4 months;
  • weight - up to 2 kg;
  • stored for more than six months;
  • usually recommended for sourdough and fresh consumption.

• "Turkiz":
  • ripening period - 4 months;
  • has a dense structure;
  • stored for a long time, but it is necessary to maintain the desired temperature.

• "Amager":
  • ripening period - 4 months;
  • average head weight - 4 kg;
  • It is stored for a long time, after lying in storage, it becomes much more tasty.

All of the above varieties perfectly withstand adverse conditions, cabbages are resistant to cracking, thereby retaining useful properties and taste.

Consider the main options:

• In the basement or cellar. Perhaps this is the best place to store any vegetables. For cabbage, the recommended temperature is from -1 to + 2 ° C, humidity - 90-98%. Do not leave fruits on the ground; they may become damp and cause rot. It is better to lay the flooring or place the cabbages on the wooden floor. It would be nice to wash the wooden cover with soda and lay out burdock or fern leaves on the surface, they will help to preserve the freshness of vegetables and protect them from rotting. Also for the same purpose, suitable straw, it will protect the wooden floor from moisture.

• In the apartment. It is allowed to store cabbage in the refrigerator, but still this method does not guarantee a long term. As noted above, to increase the shelf life should be wrapped cabbage cling film 2-3 times. Storage at home is also possible in a room where it is well ventilated, the right temperature and humidity are observed. For example, you can put cabbage in a box and place it on a warmed balcony.

• In the ground. Not the most common way, but also applies. This method is especially good in the northern regions, where thaws and rains are rare. To do this, fold the cabbages into a bucket, bag or barrel, dig a hole 50-60 cm deep and 30-40 cm wide, place a container at the bottom, put hay or sand on top, but so that ventilation remains.

The most preferred place for storing kohlrabi is the cellar. To do this, put the cut cabbage leaves with roots in boxes. Cabbage can not be washed! Fruits should be dry, you can only slightly shake off the ground. The above method of storing the method of hanging up the root.

Another common way of storing kohlrabi is freezing. Fruits need to be washed, cut or coarsely grated, packaged in bags and put into the freezer. To preserve more vitamins, it is recommended to blanch the cabbage for 3 minutes before freezing, and then rinse with ice water. The maximum storage time for frozen kohlrabi is 9 months. If you use the refrigerator for storage, the cabbage will last no more than 3 weeks.

Peking cabbage can be dried.The product is chopped and laid out in a dryer (for 5 hours at a temperature of 50-60 ºС) or an oven (3-4 hours, 50-100 ºС). After that lay out the bags and leave for storage in the closet.

A popular method is sourdough. 5 kg of shredded cabbage pour 300 ml of water, add 50 ml of vinegar, sugar and salt, grated garlic clove. Gently mix all ingredients in a container, tamp it and leave it under pressure. After a day, the leaven is pierced to the bottom, placed in a room for a day, and then removed in the cold, where in a couple of weeks the dish will be ready.

Broccoli for a long time, throughout the year, can only be stored in the freezer. For a short time fit the refrigerator. The head should be placed in the tank with the stem on the bottom, pour water into the bottom, wrap the bowl in a bag, make several holes in the polyethylene and store in this form in the refrigerator for 10 days.

In a box in the basement, the cabbages of Brussels sprouts can be stored for about 1-2 months at zero temperature and humidity of 90%. When freezing the head will last longer. Forks are left in cold water for 15 minutes, then placed in boiling water for 3 minutes, cooled and removed in bags in the freezer.

The main conditions for the successful storage of white cabbage:

• fruits should not touch;
• heads of cabbages are kept upside down;
• make sure that the cabbage does not freeze;
• maintain air humidity at a level of 90-98%.

Observe the temperature conditions:

• on average, cabbage is stored at a temperature of -1 to + 5 ° C;
• The cabbage most tender to frosts is young, its leaves do not withstand sub-zero temperatures;
• The protein variant is more durable and less demanding of temperature changes.

Tips for long term storage:

• wrap paper in each head; you can apply a newspaper, but better not for the first layer, printing ink is harmful;
• when storing in a box, it is recommended to fill the forks with sand, this will protect from dampness;
• when using food film to wrap the fruit should be very tight to avoid the appearance of air or condensation;
• By leaving cabbage for a long time in a cold place, you can “powder” it with crushed chalk, it will protect against the occurrence of rot or mold;
• If the cellar is very dry, you can put a container of water in the room to maintain humidity.

If you have not foreseen something and noticed a white bloom on cabbage, then this indicates the development of mold that has begun. Mustard powder will help to save the situation. Damaged leaves are treated with this substance, cut off after storage.

Thus, on average, cabbage can be stored for 4-6 months. If it is placed in the basement or cellar for the entire period of storage, it will lie even more unchanged, if the refrigerator is selected for storage, then the period is reduced. Keep the cabbage right, depends not only on its taste, but also the preservation of nutrients, beneficial properties and vitamins.

How to keep cabbage fresh for as long as possible, see the following video.