Grown on household plots root crops are traditionally used not only in summer, but are also stored for storage. This is facilitated by the unpretentiousness of crops and their productivity. The easiest way to store carrots and beets for the winter is to use heaps, cellars and cellars.
Under conditions of low temperature, root crops enter a dormant period, the growth of tops stops or slows down, there is no need to obtain moisture and nutrients.
But no matter how picky the culture was, during the months of storage, beets and carrots inevitably lose moisture, can rot and become infected with mold fungi. And an increase in temperature in the place of storage activates growth processes. In addition, not all root crops are equally well stored. Their ability to retain moisture and resist spoilage is affected by both the timing of harvest and the initial quality of the crop. How to store beets and carrots? What root crops will survive many months in a heap or basement, and what to do with the rest of the crop?
When to harvest carrots and beets?
To provide yourself with juicy carrots and beets for the winter, you should start by choosing the time of harvesting root crops, because an insufficiently mature, thin surface layer cannot serve reliable protection pulp, and the root crop itself does not have time to accumulate the proper amount of reserve nutrients. Because of this, unripe beets or carrots wither faster, undergo mechanical damage and are affected by microorganisms. Therefore, summer root crops are only good for quick consumption, not storage.
In rainy weather, when it is also not worth harvesting beets and carrots for laying for the winter, root crops accumulate moisture and are more prone to rot.
V middle lane carrots can be harvested from the second half of September until October, the main thing is that the crop is harvested before the onset of stable frosts. Such a step, in comparison with the early harvesting of root crops, will allow for winter months reduce shrinkage by 10-20%.
The dates for harvesting beets that rise above the soil level and are more affected by frost come a little earlier, when the tops turn yellow and dry out en masse. Usually this time falls on the first half of September, and you should not hesitate. After all, we must not forget about the activity of rodents that do not disdain root crops in rapidly emptying beds:
- When the time comes for harvesting, the root crops are carefully dug up, for which it is more convenient to use not a shovel, but a pitchfork.
- Then for bunches of tops already by hand and the beets are removed from the ground.
- Leaving short, up to 2 cm long petioles, immediately remove the greens.
- Root crops are allowed to dry, and after sorting they are sent for storage.
How to store beets and carrots?
Beets are less demanding on storage conditions than carrots. Therefore, if there is ventilation in the basement or cellar, a temperature in the range of 2–6 ° C and a humidity of 85–95%, burgundy root crops are perfectly stored on a par with potatoes in heaps, boxes or containers:
Root crops pre-treated with a porridge-like composition of clay mixed with water are well stored. After immersion in such a product, carrots and beets are removed, dried and stored in the basement, and thanks to the clay layer that retains moisture, the crop is guaranteed to be protected from wilting and spoilage. How to properly store beets and carrots if it is not possible to use sand and clay? In refrigerated storage, carrots and beets can remain fresh even in tight plastic bags with a capacity of 20 to 50 kg. Packages filled with vegetables are not tied, but placed vertically on racks.
As a result of the respiration of root crops, high humidity and a concentration of 2-3% carbon dioxide are formed inside the containers. Moreover, at temperatures close to zero, and high humidity no signs of decay or mold development are noticed.
It has been noticed that small and ugly root crops during storage lose moisture by 10–20% more than selected carrots and beets. But what if ideal vegetables do not always grow in the beds? How to save such carrots and beets for the winter? Throwing away the crop is not worth it, because even not the most beautiful and large specimens can be useful and get on the table in the form of homemade preparations. Beets and carrots can be frozen for the winter, and several in original ways. Root crops dry well. These vegetables are salted, pickled and fermented, from sweet root crops it turns out delicious jam and jam, juices and candied fruits.
Is it possible to freeze beets and carrots for the winter?
Quick freezing of fresh carrots and beets allows you to save everything taste qualities these vegetables and beneficial features.
In the simplest case, peeled and chopped root crops are dried on paper towel, and then in portions laid out in packages, closed and sent to freezer. Beets and carrots frozen for the winter can, if necessary, at the stage heat treatment add to any dishes, be it soups, side dishes, gravies or stir-fries.
Since both beets and carrots require a long boil or stew, the roots are blanched for several minutes before freezing and then poured over. cold water which improves the taste and speeds up the cooking process.
If you chop the vegetables, then carrot and beetroot puree can be frozen for the winter in portion molds:
- The resulting cubes are convenient to use
- They don't take up much space in the freezer.
- In this form, the beneficial properties of root crops are preserved until the next harvest.
Similarly, for the winter, you can freeze beetroot and carrot juice, if you wish, you can make bright vitamin ice cream from it by adding yogurt, a little honey and orange juice.
Storage of beets and carrots in dried form
No less simple and affordable way storage of beets and carrots is the drying of root crops for the winter. Pre-vegetables are thoroughly washed, peeled and cut at the discretion of the hostess. The thinner the slices of beets and carrots, the less time it will take to remove moisture. Root crops can be dried both in the oven and in a special dryer, the main thing is that the slices do not stick together and do not burn. Therefore, the raw materials are stirred from time to time and ensure that the temperature does not exceed 60-70 ° C.
Properly dried vegetables do not lose their original color and properties inherent in fresh crops.
Such carrots and beets can be added to your favorite soups, vegetable stews and other dishes. Storing beets and carrots in this form does not require much space, and in a closed glass container, the flakes remain unchanged throughout the year.
Salting and storage of beets and carrots
For salting, it is best to take medium-sized root crops, which, after cleaning, are cut, blanched and laid out in clean jars, leaving a little space at the neck. The containers are filled with boiling 2% brine, making sure that the liquid occupies all the cavities, and there are no air bubbles left in the jars. The pickles are then sterilized and covered with lids. It is better to store beets and carrots in this form in the cold, in household refrigerator or basement.
Homemade carrots and beets for the winter
Homemade preparations from beets, carrots and other vegetables in winter time seriously replenish the menu and help to cope with the lack of vitamins in the diet. Many people know and love beet and carrot salads and snacks. Root vegetables go great with others. horticultural crops, for example, cabbage and tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant, and herbs.
Cubes of pickled beets and carrots are a good help for making vinaigrettes and other healthy snacks. Beets and carrots can, as of old, be fermented together with white cabbage, and separately.
Indispensable in winter is a pre-prepared bright dressing for borscht, where, in addition to carrots and beets, onions are added, Bell pepper and tomatoes, garlic, dill and parsley.
- Peeled and chopped carrots and onion fry.
- Next, the beets are fried and stewed, at the half-cooked stage, diced sweet pepper and tomato are added.
- Vegetables are combined, seasoned with salt, vinegar, all the necessary spices and herbs.
- The dressing is laid out in jars, sterilized and closed.
Such a summer preparation not only saves time, but also gives borscht a truly summer taste and aroma. Yes, and the entire grown crop of root crops goes into business and benefits until the next garden season.
Freezing seasonal vegetables - video
Everyone knows how healthy and tasty carrots can be. Not a single soup can do without it, it is used for delicious frying in many meat dishes, pancakes and pies are baked from it, spicy oriental snacks are prepared from it. Yes, and just grated carrots with sour cream are also very fond of both adults and children. Its useful vitamins are simply invaluable in the treatment of many diseases: bronchitis, anemia, vascular and heart diseases. And due to the huge content of carotene and vitamin A - carrot roots help in curing many visual disorders.
To begin with, let's find out which carrots can be stored for a long time, and which ones cannot. The safety of carrot roots depends primarily on their degree of maturity, as well as on the ratio of glucose and sugar in them. There is no doubt that only mature, whole, undamaged and not frozen root crops should be selected for storage of carrots for the winter. If a vegetable is damaged during harvesting or during transportation, then it is no longer recommended to take it for storage, since the affected areas will lead to loss of moisture and quick spoilage fetus.
Many novice gardeners are interested in the question: why do carrots rot during storage? Safety depends not only on the quality and variety, but also on the preparation of its fruits for laying for the winter. Therefore, it is very important at the first stage to clean the dug out root crops from the tops, put them in a pile, and, having closed from the sun, dry and ventilate thoroughly. Over the next 10 days, carrots will be quarantined, after which spoiled root crops should be removed from the total mass. Before long-term crop savings at home, you must create the necessary conditions storage of carrots. For this, a storage is prepared in advance, which must be thoroughly ventilated, dried, disinfected and whitewashed. lime mortar. It is better to prepare the room in advance, about a month before laying the root crops. At the same time, one should not forget that the relative humidity of the air in the cellar or where you will store vegetables should be 90-95%.
It is important to remember that if the room is above 5 ° C, carrots may begin to germinate, so the most optimal storage temperature for carrots should be 0-1 ° C. But some early ripening varieties of carrots can start flower buds even at zero temperatures, so different varieties root crops should be stored separately from each other.
Experienced gardeners noted that the best varieties carrots for storage are varieties with a conical fruit shape: Valeria, Incomparable, Losinoostrovskaya, Shantan, Moscow winter and Vitamin. A early variety carrots with short roots, such as the Paris carotele, on the other hand, spoil rather quickly.
Storing carrots in winter at home - the most effective methods
Experts offer some of the most effective ways save the carrot crop at home. To begin with, it is very important to know the time from the beds. For example, do not rush to dig up vegetables in September, because the sun is still shining well enough, and root crops gain 3-4 grams in weight every day. But it is also impossible to miss the onset of frost, since frozen carrots will lose some of their vitamins and will be stored much worse.
- Storage of carrots in the cellar and basement can be carried out in tight plastic bags. Experienced gardeners advise abundant watering of root crops in the beds warm water two weeks before harvest. Next, the dug up carrots must be thoroughly washed, the tops and tails cut off, sprayed with a 7% onion solution and dried thoroughly for two days. Then clean root crops are placed in tight 50-liter plastic bags and poured fresh sawdust. From above for their better safety, you can pour onion peels. Finished bags are stored in the cellar in a vertical position in the open.
- Storage in boxes is also a fairly common way to save crops for the winter. Washed and dried carrots should be stored in boxes with clean sand mixed with slaked lime. In this case, the roots should not be in contact with each other. Each layer of fruit is sprinkled with a five-centimeter layer of sand, and so on until the very end.
- in the sand is very convenient when you do not have suitable boxes. At this method root crops are stored in layers directly on the floor of a pre-prepared storage in a 5-cm layer of clean sand.
- Storage in a clay mash is also a very interesting, albeit time-consuming process, since at first you will need to prepare a homogeneous mixture from clay with water. Next, each carrot is dipped in a mash, dried in the sun until a crust forms and placed in plastic open bags without tying. Favorably distinguishes this method from others, relatively long shelf life of carrots (from 4 to 5 months).
We keep the orange beauty in the apartment
If you don’t have a private house or a dacha with a cellar, but you really want to keep fresh and tasty carrots for the winter, don’t get upset right away. There are several simple ways to save an orange beauty even in an apartment. For example, carrots thoroughly washed and trimmed from tops and tails can be kept in refrigerator drawers in ordinary plastic bags.
In order for the root crop to be well preserved until the very spring, it must have a certain structure and composition. Carrots intended for storage should have a high percentage of solids, sugars and carotene.
The drier the carrot, the more resistant it is to pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms that lead to spoilage of the product.
Particular attention should be paid to the shape of the vegetable.. Experienced gardeners say that medium-sized and conical-shaped carrots are best stored. It is unacceptable to store carrots with damage to the peel, dents, cuts. It will become unusable very quickly and can “infect” a healthy crop.
Varieties
Not all varieties of carrots are suitable for long-term storage. The main indicator characterizing the ability of the root crop to keep for a long time useful qualities and do not deteriorate, is the keeping quality. In turn, it depends on the speed of carrot ripening and the expected harvest date.
The main principle is this: the later the carrots were planted and the later they ripened, the longer they will last. Therefore, it is worth choosing late-ripening varieties or varieties of medium ripening.
- Late-ripening carrots with good keeping quality- Valeria, Forto, Vita Longa, Moscow Winter, Carlena, Flaccoro.
- Mid-season carrots- Incomparable, Nantes-4 and Callisto - is considered the best for bookmarking for the winter.
- Hybrid varieties with late ripening– Tinga F1, Totem F1. In addition to keeping quality, they are distinguished by excellent productivity.
Important! Carrots for winter storage must be ripe and harvested on time. In a mature root crop, the lower leaves of the tops begin to dry out.
Which varieties are suitable for storage is described in detail.
Cellar storage methods
Cellar - perfect option winter storage for carrots. However, it is relevant only for private houses. But owners of cottages, sheds or garages with an equipped cellar can also use the method. Sometimes the owners manage to “provide” apartments on the first floors of houses with a basement for storing vegetables and homemade products.
- Glazed loggia or balcony - they can be an alternative to the cellar. In this case, you can use the methods that are used for basement storage.
- Cool pantry.
- Fenced and protected stairwells.
- Freezer.
- In jars in dried form.
How to do it?
The easiest way to save a carrot so that it does not wither or spoil is to place it on glazed loggias or balcony. But this requires strict temperature control. If the room freezes, then the crop will freeze, becoming unfit for food. If it is warm on the balcony, the vegetables will quickly sprout and deteriorate.
Some owners experiment and use several storage methods at once. For example, they are stored in boxes along with the husks or clay-treated roots are placed in the sand.
If there are few carrots, you can use the pantry for storage. Wipe the carrots first, removing excess dirt and earth, wrap each fruit in a newspaper and fold it randomly into boxes.
An alternative storage method can be called. You can dry the vegetable in a natural way - outdoors in a dry sunny weather. And you can use kitchen appliances- microwave oven, oven, electric dryer. The output is crushed pieces that can be stored for a long time in ordinary jars with lids.
How to keep vegetables fresh longer?
To keep carrots as long as possible, you need to properly prepare the crop:
- It is strictly forbidden to wash carrots (read about whether it is worth washing carrots for storage). The only exception is vegetables for drying and.
- The entire batch of carrots is carefully inspected. Rotten, wilted, damaged fruits are to be discarded.
- Sorted specimens are slightly dried in a natural way. Better - in the wind, and not in direct sunlight. In this case, it is necessary to turn the fruits over from time to time.
- Follow temperature regime and humidity in the storage room.
Practice shows that subject to and storage of the root crop, carrots can be stored:
- 1 year- using paraffin, clay;
- six months- in bags with onion peel, boxes with sand, ash or sawdust;
- 2-4 months- in polyethylene bags;
- 1-2 months- in fridge.
Why do vegetables spoil?
Many hosts do typical mistakes when storing roots. This leads to premature spoilage of the product, loss of taste and useful properties.
- Why do carrots rot? In room high humidity. In this case, the condensate settles on the fruits and provokes the reproduction of microbes.
Solution: ventilate the room, arrange a stand for a box or bag, periodically sort out the fruits.
- Why do carrots sprout? The rules for trimming the leaves or the temperature regime are not observed (it is too warm in the room).
Solution: cut the tops to the very stem, transfer to a cooler room, periodically inspect the workpiece and sort it out.
- Why do carrots wither? The rules for assembling and drying the root crop were violated, the carrots were overexposed in the sun or harvested too early.
Solution: Embrace your own mistakes and avoid similar situation next year.
- It is not recommended to store carrots in the same room as apples. The fruit releases ethylene, which leads to spoilage of the carrot.
- Vegetables that are grown for a long time in the same area and heavily flavored nitrogen fertilizers, will not be stored for a long time.
- The time interval between harvesting and storage should be minimal - a few days.
- Better stored thick and juicy fruits, and small and thin ones are best eaten early.
Storing carrots is not an easy task, but it is doable. By adhering to the rules of harvesting and storage, you can provide seven vitamins for the whole winter.
The end of September is an important time for all summer residents. It is necessary to collect vegetables from your beds, pack them correctly for good preservation and the possibility of using them all year long until the next harvest. Carrots are the most difficult vegetable to winter in an apartment or cellar, so it is important to learn how to store carrots at home. The first stage of this work is the collection of carrots. It is considered ripe when the lower leaves of the leaves begin to turn yellow. For the juiciness of the vegetable, the last week before harvesting it should not be watered.
Storing carrots at home for the winter
- variety selection for this purpose. Not all varieties retain moisture well and are suitable for long-term storage;
- timely harvest. Seed bags indicate the average ripening time. vegetable crops. By saving seed bags, you can always calculate optimal time collecting carrots;
- treatment harvested crop and the preparation of carrots depends on the option you choose.
What varieties of carrots are best stored
Long-term storage of carrots in the cellar or basement depends on the choice of its variety. Early-ripening and mid-ripening varieties of small length do not retain moisture well, therefore they are not suitable for long-term storage. It is advisable to use them before the onset of cold weather or preserve them. For long-term preservation, the varieties you choose should be late-ripening and have a length of at least 20 cm. The following varieties are well suited for this purpose:
- Forto;
- Valeria;
- Vita Long;
- Moscow winter;
- Berlikum;
- Nuance;
- Queen of autumn;
- Karlena;
- Flaccoro;
- Samson;
- Shantane.
How to trim carrots for storage
After harvesting, the carrots are dried, cleaned from the ground, sorted out. The degree of its circumcision depends on the chosen storage method. When leaving the vegetable for the winter in the ground, the tops are cut off without affecting the root crop. Storing carrots for the winter in the basement or at home will require cutting the tops and roots by 5-10 mm to remove the point of its growth. After digging, timely cooling to 1-2 degrees Celsius is necessary to stop growth and better preserve root crops.
Carrot storage temperature
An important parameter keeping carrots well is keeping indoors optimum temperature from +2 to -1 degrees Celsius and humidity 90 - 95%. With more high temperature carrots begin to dry out, the fruits rot. An increase in temperature will create additional conditions for undesirable germination of vegetables, manifestations of diseases. Lowering the temperature can lead to overfreezing and loss of taste. Lowering the humidity will cause the carrots to lose their juiciness and dry out faster.
Storage conditions
If it is possible to create optimal temperature conditions for storage, wooden vegetable or plastic crates. It is undesirable to put them on the floor of a storage or garage. For this purpose, it is worthwhile to provide shelves 10-20 cm above the floor level. The method of storage depends on the location you have chosen for placing vegetables for the winter. the best options there will be basements or cellars that do not freeze in winter. It is more difficult to keep carrots in an apartment.
Storage methods
different ways storage of carrots has one goal - to prevent the product from losing moisture. Our ancestors knew how to properly store carrots. Storage methods include both proven for centuries folk methods, and more modern, using new materials. Good safety will ensure the use of:
- ventilated boxes on the shelves of the basement or cellar;
- polypropylene bags with ash;
- clay boxes;
- boxes with wet sand, moss, dry needles or onion peel;
- conservation in the garden - where the carrot sprouts.
How to store carrots for the winter
Primary processing root crops includes their cleaning, pruning and drying. After culling and trimming, the vegetables are dried until a dry crust forms at the cut site. The shelf life of carrots depends on the storage method:
- clay and sawdust will help keep carrots until a new harvest;
- wet sand - from 7 to 9 months;
- ordinary boxes– from 4 to 7 months;
- polypropylene bags - from 2 to 3 months;
- plastic bags for freezing or cling film - up to 6 months.
In the basement
If you have a basement, you need to dry it, whitewash it, disinfect it and provide good ventilation. The choice of storage method depends on the level of humidity in the room. If it is insufficient, it is better to use wet clay or sand. For this, prepare clay mixture from loamy (not river) layers. The bottom of the box is laid out with a 1-2 cm layer of clay, and then the first row of carrots. Root crops should not touch. In the same way, all subsequent rows of carrots are laid. Laying in wet sand is done in a similar way.
The temperature of the room and the humidity of the air, sand or clay should be monitored. In dry sand, vegetables will quickly begin to lose moisture. To preserve moisture, carrots are covered with sawdust in tight boxes. Coniferous sawdust prevents early wilting of carrots. Before laying, root crops can be treated with a chalk suspension or powdered with a layer of chalk to create a weak alkaline environment that prevents root crops from rotting.
in the cellar
The cellars are perfect place storage of root crops - a natural refrigerator. Maintaining optimal temperature and humidity makes it possible to use any of the proposed storage methods. Measures must be taken to protect the crop from rodents and other pests. Answering the question of how best to store carrots in the cellar, experts recommend using moss, dry needles or onion peel. The use of several methods gives a good effect, since the level of moisture in a vegetable (juiciness) largely depends on the weather in summer.
Without proper storage conditions, carrots are invariably threatened with rapid wilting. An undesirable moment that should be prevented is the germination of leaves. Another problem to consider when stocking up on carrots for the winter is the susceptibility of this root crop. different kind diseases. The most common of them are black, gray, white and dry rot.
The causative agent of black rot - the fungus Alternaria - can be found in the remains of the soil and plant organic matter. Gray rot affects the carrot tissue in the form of a fluffy coating on its surface. This disease spreads quickly, moving from infected to healthy root crops, turning carrot storage into a real disaster.
Very dangerous is white rot or the so-called sclerotinia. In addition to carrots, it can destroy many other vegetables in storage, softening root vegetables and covering them with white fluff, as well as mucus.
When affected by dry rot - phomosis - carrots are covered dark brown spots while keeping it dry.
Thus, the storage of carrots requires certain conditions, which should ensure the availability all year round whole, healthy, and, most importantly, healthy root crops.
Preparing carrots for storage
Before sending carrots for storage, they should be sorted out, discarding frozen or mechanically damaged roots.
The tops need to be cut off so that there are no buds capable of germinating. It is also recommended to trim the tips, which are the most vulnerable to disease.
You don't need to wash vegetables. After sorting, they are sprayed with a special solution or dusted with chalk. Then the carrots should be dried well in a shady place.
Carefully enough, you need to prepare the storage, which, before laying carrots, must be cleaned of last year's garbage, dried well, whitewashed with lime and sprinkled with formalin.
When sending carrots for storage, it is important to consider its compatibility with other crops. For example, carrots do not tolerate neighborhood with apples that emit ethylene, which worsens the taste of this root crop.
Ways to store carrots
There are many options for storing carrots for the winter. In the cellars, it remarkably withstands storage in bulk, but there are other ways.
In a private house, if there is no cellar, carrots can be stored in a caisson, which is easy to make from metal barrel, digging it into the underground of the house. From above, the caisson should be tightly closed with a lid to protect vegetables from mice. The lid must be made with a small hole for ventilation of vegetables, and insulated from above with hay or other material.
It is very convenient to keep vegetables in boxes in winter. For storage of carrots, you should take tight boxes with a capacity of not more than 20 kg. Filled with carrots, they are placed on a stand on a dais.
Carrot storage at home is easiest to do with polyethylene packaging, which creates the best mode for a given root crop. You can buy ready-made bags, or you can weld them yourself with a soldering iron made of food-grade polyethylene. Optimal sizes for such a bag it will be about a meter long and half a meter wide.
Finally
The storage of carrots will be successful if you follow the basic requirements, namely, to properly prepare the root crops themselves and the place for their wintering, be sure to re-layer the carrots and decide on the most convenient way to store them.