2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14
When there are so many cucumbers in the house in the summer that it is no longer possible to quickly eat them all in an ordinary salad, and, of course, it is a pity to throw them away, the first decision that comes to mind is to pickle. But, perhaps, there are options for how to keep fresh cucumbers in the refrigerator longer? After all, pickles are a completely different taste!
What conditions do cucumbers like
Vegetable is surprisingly capricious. If he is too cold, then he softens and slimes. If it's hot, it turns yellow and fades.
Therefore, in order to understand how long to keep cucumbers fresh, you need to know the optimal conditions for it. This is a humidity of 90-95% and a temperature of plus 5-6 degrees. In such an environment, cucumbers will “live” for two to three weeks without any additional processing.
Also, during storage, cucumbers should not be placed together with tomatoes, apples, melons, otherwise they will quickly deteriorate.
It is advisable to choose glass, wooden or clay containers for storage. You can put a clove of garlic in it to keep the cucumbers from rotting.
How long can cucumbers be stored
When figuring out how long to keep cucumbers fresh, it would be nice to clarify what period is understoodunder the word "long". Here are the terms that these fruits are able to hold out at different temperatures, if they are not provided with some special conditions:
- up to 8 degrees - up to 7 days;
- 0 to 4 degrees - from two weeks to a month;
- from -2 to -6 - 1-2 months;
- from -8 to -12 - up to 5 months;
- -18 to -14 - 5-9 months;
- from -24 to -18 - about a year.
Refrigerated storage
What do we usually do when we want to extend the "life" of a product? We send it to the cold. Cucumbers at a temperature of about 0 degrees can be stored in a refrigerator for twenty days. But there are two nuances.
Firstly, there are varieties of cucumbers, including greenhouse ones, that do not tolerate low temperatures. Secondly, for preservation, they need a humidity of 90%. And the cold softens the cucumbers. How long to keep cucumbers fresh in the refrigerator with these features?
Without any preparation, cucumbers from their own beds will lie quietly in the refrigerator on the vegetable shelf for 3-5 days. Store-bought vegetables will last 7-8 days. If you need to increase this period, do the following.
Select the cucumbers. If there are yellow buds, remove them. No need to wash. Wrap each fruit in a paper towel and then fold into closed but not sealed bags. In this form, they will lie for 10-14 days.
It is not recommended to store simply in plastic bags without paper wrapping. If you already use them, then make sure that they have holes in them.
Freeze
How to keep cucumbers fresh longer if they are not planned to be eaten in the next few months? Only by freezing.
Wash and dry vegetables. Cut into slices or cubes, depending on how you intend to use them.
Spread the chopped cucumbers on a plate, cover with polyethylene cling film and put in the freezer for several hours. Pour the cucumbers ready for storage into a bag, tie and return to the freezer. Try to keep as little air in the bag as possible. You can use a juice straw to blow it out.
It is permissible to freeze whole fruits, after wrapping them in polyethylene. But in the future, you still have to chop them before using, and it is more convenient to do this when the vegetables are fresh.
In polyethylene without refrigerator
These fruits contain a large amount of water, which quickly evaporates through the skin. Based on this feature, you can figure out how to keep cucumbers fresh for a long time.
The most obvious option is to prevent moisture from evaporating by covering the fruits with a plastic bag or film. But cucumbers also need to "breathe", so you should not tightly wrap each of them in a film.
Put them in bags or wrap several pieces (no more than 2 kilograms) with a film. At a temperature not higher than 15-20 degrees, they will "live" from 15 to 30 days, inin some cases - longer.
In the water "bouquet"
Try to provide moisture-loving vegetables with a constant supply of liquid. Arrange them vertically in the pan, tails down. Fill the container with water so that it covers the cucumbers by about a third.
Usually green fruits are stored for a long time in such conditions. However, the water must be changed every day, otherwise the vegetables will rot.
Wrapped in egg white
Cellar owners rarely have a question about how to keep cucumbers fresh for a long time, as there are more conditions for this: there is a cool room with fairly high humidity.
For the described method, it is advisable to take cucumbers with a long stem, since after processing the fruits need to be hung somehow.
Wash and dry vegetables thoroughly. Beat the egg white and coat the cucumbers generously with it. After drying, the protein forms a film, which, on the one hand, prevents the evaporation of moisture, and on the other hand, allows the fruits to breathe.
Processed cucumbers are hung from the ropes by the stalk and stored in a cool place. In this form, they will keep their useful properties and taste for quite a long time.
They will need to be cleaned before use.
In a jar with a candle
This method is somewhat exotic, but if you want to know how long to keep cucumbers fresh, and by the word "long" you mean more than a month or two, thena candle in a jar is a real find.
The method allows you to fully preserve the taste. It is more suitable for storing fruits that have just been picked from the garden, but store-bought vegetables can also be saved with this method.
Select the cucumbers. They must be of excellent quality, without the slightest damage. Take a three-liter jar and sterilize. Wipe freshly picked or purchased cucumbers with a dry cloth, do not wash.
Place an ordinary candle (any but not scented!) in a jar, and fold the vegetables around it. But do not fill to the top, you need to leave some space. Light a candle and let it burn for ten minutes.
Then take the metal lid and seal the jar. This must be done so that the candle does not go out. It will go out by itself when the closed jar runs out of oxygen.
Keep container of cucumbers in a cool place.
One more way
This is an old recipe that promises to keep for at least a few months. You will need vinegar and a non-metallic container. You can take an enamel pan.
Pour some vinegar into the bottom of the container. Arrange the cucumbers so that they do not touch it. For example, use some sort of grid. Then close the lid tightly. Inside, a gaseous environment is formed that is comfortable for the fruit.
We looked at many options for how long to keep cucumbers fresh. Choose the right one and enjoy fresh vegetables all year round!
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