Proven ways to store Savoy cabbage for the winter at home

Savoy cabbage is a low-calorie vegetable rich in vitamins and minerals. In terms of composition and taste, it is not inferior to others. Consider how to correctly choose and lay these vegetables for the winter, and how to preserve their properties as much as possible in order to saturate the body with useful substances all winter.

Storage considerations for savoy cabbage

If cabbage is laid from the garden, then the crop is harvested at a temperature not lower than -6 ° C. Vegetables are not watered before harvesting: they must be dry.

Key recommendations:

1. If planned keep vegetables with roots, they are carefully dug up. If not, the stem is cut with a sharp knife, the stump is shortened to 3 cm.
2. Harvested in dry weather.
3. It is advisable to leave 2-3 tight-fitting leaves on the heads of cabbage. They will protect against damage and prevent dirt from entering.
4. It is better to keep Savoy cabbage in wooden boxes. Heads of cabbage are folded at a short distance from each other, stump down.

For a bookmark for the winter, take vegetables weighing more than 500 g: the larger the fruit, the longer it will be stored.

Choosing and preparing cabbage

Heads of cabbage take dense and heavy with elastic leaves of a rich green color without spots or damage. Pest infested or rotten cabbage cannot be stored. To dry the crop, sprinkle with crushed chalk and leave for 2-3 days in a dry room.

Important! Cabbage will have a longer shelf life if you do not cut the roots.

Suitable varieties

Early varieties and hybrids ripen 100–120 days after planting, medium ones - 120–135 days, late ones - 140 and more.

Late-ripening varieties are suitable for long-term storage: Alaska F1, Uralochka, Stilon F1, Ovasa F1, Lacemaker. They have a long growing season, heads of cabbage ripen in the second half of autumn.

Storage methods

The most common options for storing Savoy cabbage for the winter are:

• in the basement or cellar (open or closed);
• on the balcony or loggia;
• in the refrigerator or freezer;
• under the snow.

In the cellar

The best place for storing vegetables is a basement, cellar or garage. The room is prepared in advance:

• if there is mold on the walls, it is removed with anti-fungal agents;
• the room is thoroughly ventilated and dried;
• 3-4 weeks before laying vegetables, the walls, ceiling and floor are disinfected with a solution of copper sulfate (100 g of the product per 10 liters of warm water), a bactericidal primer or any antiseptic preparation, then ventilate well;
• in the presence of rodents, get rid of them.

Basic conditions for storing vegetables indoors:

• air humidity - 85–90%;
• temperature - 0 ... + 4 ° С;
• good ventilation;
• lack of light.

Their shelf life depends on the quality preparation of the premises.

On the balcony

For long-term storage of heads of cabbage, only a glazed balcony or loggia is suitable. The temperature here should not drop below -6 ° C.

Council. During severe frosts, cabbage is transferred to a warmer place.

Heads of cabbage are pre-cleaned from dirty leaves and dried. If the air on the balcony is dry, the vegetables are wrapped in paper. They are put in wooden or plastic lattice boxes.

In a refrigerator

How to keep vegetables at home? This option is suitable for a small amount of harvest. Heads of cabbage are placed in vegetable boxes or placed in bags with holes made in them. The temperature in the refrigerator should be no more than + 4 ° С.

Vegetables are taken clean and dry, the stump is cut so that it protrudes 1-2 cm from the lower leaves.

In the freezer

It is inconvenient to keep the whole cabbage in the freezer, so blanks are made from it.

For example, for cabbage rolls, cabbage heads are disassembled into separate leaves, blanched for about five minutes in hot water and left to drain on a towel. After drying, they are packaged in bags and sent to the freezer. Before use, the workpiece is thawed at room temperature.

Cabbage is also stored in sliced ​​form: it is finely chopped and sorted into bags, added to soups, vegetable stews. Before cooking, the workpiece is not thawed, but immediately sent to the pan. This will not affect the taste of the dish in any way.

Under the snow

Savoy cabbage is a hardy vegetable. Snow storage is weather dependent and suitable for areas with early winter.

Attention! The vegetables are kept under snow until the temperature drops to -4 ° C.

If at the end of October there is a slight frost and snow falls, the cabbage is left in the garden. The beds are additionally sprinkled with snow so that the vegetables are completely covered with it. For consumption, the cabbage is dug up, shaken off of the snow and left to thaw in a warm room.

Open storage

The shelves on the cabbage racks are made of wooden slats with gaps of 4-5 cm.Air circulation depends on this... The heads of cabbage are folded separately from each other, stumps up.

The crop is also stored in a suspended form: for this, vegetables are hung from the ceiling or beam. If the root is not cut off, then it is pierced with wire or wrapped with rope. Rootless cabbage is sorted into separate mesh bags and hung.

In a closed

This method is used at low humidity indoors. The crop is kept in well-ventilated wooden or plastic boxes, covered with sand. They do it like this:

1. The bottom of the box is covered with dry clean sand (about 1-2 cm).
2. Spread the heads of cabbage stumps upwards at a distance from each other and cover with a thin layer of sand (2-3 cm).
3. The boxes are placed on pallets to allow air to enter from below.

Heads of cabbage are laid in several rows, making sure that they do not touch each other. Instead of sand, use a thick layer of paper, wrapping each fruit well.

Important! The drier the air, the shorter the shelf life of the cabbage will be.

In the form of a pyramid

If there is a lot of harvest, and there are no suitable containers or racks, vegetables are laid out in a pyramid on the floor in the cellar. First, place the largest heads of cabbage, then - the smaller ones.

Large fruits last longer, so they are removed further away, and small ones are placed closer and eaten first. Each layer is sprinkled with sand.

Attention! Cabbage is periodically checked for tainted specimens.

Packaged

This method is more often used in an apartment. Each forks are placed in a perforated plastic bag. Without them, the leaves will rot faster due to the accumulating condensation. After packing, vegetables are sent to the refrigerator or taken out to the balcony.

Sometimes heads of cabbage are wrapped in plastic wrap, put in bags or boxes and left on the balcony, shelves in the cellar and in the refrigerator. These vegetables are stored for 20-30 days at a low temperature.

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Storage periods

The shelf life of Savoy cabbage depends on the method chosen:

• open vegetables are stored for up to 12 months;
• closed - 6-7 months;
• in the refrigerator or on the balcony - 3-4 months.

Conclusion

Although Savoy cabbage is not as popular as cabbage, it surpasses it in juiciness and vitamins.

Many people doubt the possibility of its long-term storage due to the delicate and soft structure of the leaves.However, vegetables do not lose their quality and taste throughout the winter if they have been correctly selected and prepared, and left at a suitable temperature and humidity.