How to store pumpkin at home in an apartment: we create optimal conditions and keep the vegetable fresh for the winter

Pumpkin is a versatile product on the hostess's table. This vegetable is used to prepare first and second courses, desserts, juices and mousses, preserves and candied fruits. Due to the minimum amount of calories, it is recognized as a dietary product. It contains many useful substances - vitamins, amino acids, minerals and fiber.

Unfortunately, the vegetable does not grow all year round, so you should know how to store pumpkin at home in the apartment.

Varieties suitable for long-term storage

To make a harvest for the winter, you first need to know which variety is more suitable for storage.... There are many varieties of pumpkin, but late-ripening is suitable for long-term storage. They have a thick and elastic peel that preserves the integrity of the product for a long time without losing useful vitamins and minerals.

In addition, pumpkin is divided into large-fruited and small-fruited varieties. Large-fruited have a longer shelf life - up to 8 months.

Small-fruited less persistent - they are stored for 3-4 months. However, with a shorter shelf life, small-fruited varieties have a richer and more pleasant taste.

The following pumpkin varieties are best stored:

1. Kherson - large-fruited variety. Fruit weight varies between 3–6 kg. Has a delicate sweet taste.
2. Zhdana - large-fruited variety. The weight of one fruit reaches 6–8 kg. The pulp is rich orange, has a sweet taste.
3. Slavuta - also a large-fruited pumpkin, ripening by the end of the summer season. The fruit is small - only 3–3.5 kg. The pulp is rich orange in color, loose in structure, has a sweet delicate taste.
4. Mozoleevskaya-15 - a hard-bore variety belonging to the mid-season species. The weight of one fruit reaches 8 kg. The pulp is bright yellow in color, firm, has a rich sweet taste.
5. Arbatskaya - late-ripening nutmeg pumpkin. The fruits are large, reaching 5–9 kg. The flesh is reddish-orange, crispy, juicy.
6. Gilea - refers to the nutmeg pumpkin varieties. The fruits are large, weighing at least 9 kg. The pulp is bright in color, firm, crunchy, juicy, sweet.
7. Polyanin Is another muscat variety with an oblong shape. The weight of the fetus reaches 4 kg. The pulp is firm and juicy in taste.
8. Ioannina – nutmeg mid-season variety. The average weight of one fruit is 6.5 kg. The pulp is juicy, sweet.

Choosing the right fruits

Choosing fruits for home storage for the winter should be from late-ripening varieties, since they are stored longer. The fruit should be deep orange in color and have a firm surface without scratches or dents.

How to store a pumpkin in an apartment

Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to store fruits in a basement or cellar. People living in an apartment, and not in a private house, often face the problem of the safety of fruits and vegetables. However, with proper preparation, pumpkin can be stored until spring and in apartment conditions.

Fruit preparation

The necessary moment in storing pumpkin is the stage of product preparation. Therefore, you should be serious about harvesting or buying fruit from the market. When choosing a fruit for long-term storage, pay attention to the presence of a tail - without it, the pumpkin will quickly begin to rot.

It is necessary that the tail is dry and without signs of incipient putrefaction... Its length should be 5–7 mm. It is important to choose a ripe fruit, without damage, removed from the garden on time (before frost).

Attention! It is necessary to remove the pumpkin from the garden at a temperature not lower than -5 ° C.

If you do not adhere to these rules, winter harvesting will quickly deteriorate and will be unusable.

To preserve the product for the winter, the pumpkin skin must be thoroughly dried. Therefore, the harvested crop should be placed in a sufficiently sunny and ventilated place for a week.

Creating suitable storage conditions

When creating conditions for storing pumpkin, the following factors should be considered:

1. Lighting. For long-term storage, pumpkin fruits must be protected from direct sunlight and bright light.
2. Temperature. Favorable temperature conditions for storage are within 8–10 ° C.
3. Humidity. To store pumpkin, the air humidity must be within 70-80%.

Where to store

There are two ways to save a pumpkin in an apartment:

• at room temperature;
• in a refrigerator.

At room temperature

In an apartment environment, it is more correct to store a pumpkin not in a room, but on a glazed balcony, since the required temperature of 8-10 ° C is reached there... However, for storing pumpkin on the balcony, you should first of all prepare the room, that is, darken the glass in order to avoid direct sunlight on the product.

If the number of pumpkins is large, make a storage rack. Line it with cardboard or heavy paper, and fold the vegetables so that they don't touch each other. In places of contact, rot quickly forms.

Another place suitable for storing pumpkins in the winter in an apartment is the pantry. However, in this room, the temperature exceeds favorable values, thereby reducing the shelf life of the product.

In a refrigerator

The pumpkin is often larger than the portion a family can consume to prepare a meal. This means that there will be a part of the fruit that needs to be preserved. The refrigerator will help with this.

To store in the refrigerator, grease the remaining part of the pumpkin on the cut with a thin layer of refined oil and wrap in plastic wrap. In this form, place the blank in the refrigerator in the vegetable compartment.

In what form is it better to store

There are different storage methods for different uses of pumpkin. Storage is common at room temperature and cut in the refrigerator. In addition to these methods, there is also freezing and drying of the product. Consider the common types.

As a whole

Storing the product as a whole allows you to preserve all its nutrients and trace elements for a longer time. If the necessary conditions are met, the vegetable can be stored until spring without loss of taste and quality.

Cut

Cut into pieces, the fruit can only be stored in a refrigerator or freezer.

This method is convenient in that the unused product does not have to be thrown away or an excessively large amount of pumpkin dishes must be cooked. It is recommended to wrap the unused part of the fruit in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator in the compartment for storing vegetables.

Freezing is also possible. To do this, cut the leftover pumpkin into pieces and put it in the freezer. The disadvantage of freezing is that it cannot be prepared from such a product pumpkin juice.

How much pumpkin is stored

The shelf life of a vegetable varies from 2 weeks to 1 year. The difference in terms is due to the storage method.

Longer storage is considered as a whole at room temperature. These vegetables are stored until spring.

The freezer provides a shelf life of up to 1 year. Pumpkin, cut into pieces and packed in bags, will diversify the diet until the next harvest.

Life hacks to extend shelf life

We offer several more cognitive life hacks that allow you to keep the product at home:

1. If it so happens that the specimen that you prepared for storage was scratched, treat these places of the fruit with a solution of potassium permanganate or brilliant green. This procedure will destroy pathogenic microflora and prolong the shelf life of the pumpkin.
2. For storing large quantities of pumpkin fruits, prepare wooden racks with openings for air circulation. A ventilated vegetable is less prone to rotting.
3. Do not try to keep the pumpkin near the fruit until spring, as ripe fruit will release ethylene, which will ripen and further rot the product.
4. To avoid rotting, do not wash the pumpkin before storing it. However, if there are lumps of dirt on the peel, they should be gently brushed off or wiped with a dry cloth.
5. Do not forget about your harvesting before spring. Check its integrity once a week to exclude the beginning of the decay process.

Conclusion

To preserve healthy and tasty pumpkin for the winter, it is important to choose the right variety of fruits. The pumpkin is stored as a whole under appropriate conditions: temperature not higher than 8-10 ° C, air humidity 70-80% and no direct sunlight. Another way to preserve the product without losing its beneficial properties is to freeze it.

By following simple advice, you will provide yourself and your family for the entire winter with a healthy vegetable that contains a large amount of vitamins.