Many summer residents in their plots grow pumpkins, and harvest in late summer. One part of the fruit can be consumed immediately, and the other can be stored. To be able to enjoy vitamin fruits even in the winter season, it is extremely important to observe storage conditions, and regardless of where the pumpkin lies - in the cellar or in the apartment. What are these conditions, we will examine further.
What varieties are suitable for storage?
Not all pumpkin varieties can be stored in winter, so this factor should be considered when buying seeds. Mid-ripe and late-ripening varieties are best stored, especially if you plan to keep them in a cellar or basement. Varieties that are characterized by increased keeping quality are:
- Kherson. Medium-late, drought-resistant and heat-loving variety. This pumpkin has a dense gray peel and a slightly flattened shape. There are small spots and stripes on the skin. The pulp is orange, fleshy and sweet.
- Slavuta. Belongs to late grades, therefore, harvesting is carried out in the middle or end of September, depending on the weather. This type of pumpkin has a grayish-green peel, sweet pulp and a strong immunity to disease.
- Ioannina. Mid-season variety, which has an oval shape, orange peel with small green spots and a pleasant sweet taste. Does not suffer from powdery mildew.
- Gilea. Mid-ripe muscat variety, which has a thin peel, yellowish-orange flesh with a pleasant taste.
- Polyanin. Mid-season table variety. The fruits ripen in a cylindrical shape, have a brown peel and sweet flesh, which is used in baby food.
- Vitamin. This is a late-ripening variety of nutmeg pumpkin with a ripening period of 130 days, which is recommended to be planted in warm summers. The fruits have an oval shape, a yellow peel with green stripes and a sweet orange flesh. They can weigh from 4 to 7 kg.
- Winter sweet. This is a mid-season variety with gray crust covered with specks. The shape of the fetus is round and slightly flattened. The pulp is orange, sweet in taste and smells good. Has immunity against various fungal diseases. Well kept. The mass of fruits is from 6 to 12 kg.
- Pearl. A medium late variety of nutmeg pumpkin. It resembles a pear in shape; pulp is used even fresh. Fruits grow up to 5 kg.
- Interception. Late-ripening variety, which bears small fruits weighing up to 3 kg. Their shape is elongated or shortened. Great for baking and juice.
- Zhdanna. The variety is considered mid-season. The fruit ripens large, has a bright orange flesh and a sweet taste. Fruits can reach a weight of up to 8 kg. It has a persistent immunity to disease and prolonged viability.
- Arabat. Muscat pumpkin with a growing season of 118-127 days. The fruits have the shape of a cylinder and resemble zucchini in external characteristics. Weigh from 9 to 20 kg. The crust is bright yellow, and the flesh is orange and sweet. The variety is well kept in the cellar.
- Gymnosperm. A medium early pumpkin variety that grows from 5 to 15 kg. It has a hard crust and yellow flesh. It is well preserved under optimal conditions.
Experienced gardeners recommend choosing varieties of nutmeg pumpkins for storage for the winter, because under optimal conditions they have a high keeping quality - about 6 months. Popular varieties include such varieties as Vitamin, Pearl, Interception, Vita and Butternut.
Optimal storage conditions
Regardless of the storage location, experienced gardeners identify universal conditions that allow you to keep pumpkin fresh for as long as possible. They look like this:
- lack of light (it is necessary to prevent direct sunlight from getting on the fruit);
- constant access to fresh air (there should be good ventilation in the room);
- comfortable temperature - + 3 ... 15 ° C (under low temperature conditions, the fruits will freeze, and their shelf life will be reduced by 3-4 months);
- moderate indicators of air humidity - not more than 75-80% (with higher humidity, cobwebs, mold, spots and other signs of damage will appear on the fruit peel, so they will have to be removed and the storage location changed).
The best place to store is considered a cellar, but with the right approach, the fruits can also be kept in the pantry, refrigerator, insulated balcony or garage.
Storage preparation
First of all, it consists in the proper harvesting. Pumpkin is recommended to be harvested at the beginning of September, before frost sets in. By this time, it should be hard and slightly dry. The collection should be carried out on a dry day, cutting the pumpkin along with the stem.
It is recommended that the collected fruits be cleaned of dirt with a dry towel and kept in the sun for several days, so that the stalk is well dried. This is an important point, because in case of violation of the integrity of the stem, the vegetable will quickly deteriorate.
The dried fruit is then required to be sorted out in order to select the most successful copies for storage. They must be with the stalks fully ripened, healthy and holistic. If there is damage to the pumpkin, dark spots or mold, then it is not suitable for storage, even if you cut off unsuitable areas, because in this case the risk of infection of the entire fruit is extremely high.
For storage, you need to send a pumpkin with a natural protective layer, since it repels pathogens. In this regard, the collected fruits can not be washed or wiped with a damp cloth.
Where and how to store pumpkin?
In the cellar
The most reliable way to preserve the pumpkin is to place it in the cellar, since a constant air temperature of about 5 ° C is usually kept in this place and moderate air humidity is maintained at 75%. Of course, before laying the vegetable, the cellar will need to be prepared in advance:
- completely get rid of last year's crop (you can only leave closed jars with pickled cucumbers, tomatoes);
- ventilate the room well;
- wipe the shelves;
- dry the floor;
- disinfect parasites and molds (for this purpose it is recommended to spread walls and shelves with lime before laying vegetables).
After preparing the premises, you can directly bookmark the pumpkin in compliance with the following rules:
- to put fruits on shelves, because the temperature on them is higher than on the floor;
- place dry paper or straw under the fruit;
- Do not put the fruit close to the walls;
- be sure to send up the fruit stalks;
- withstand between the fruits about 10 cm, that is, do not lay them close to each other;
- put straw between pumpkins.
After the bookmark, you need to regularly review what condition the fruits are in. If it is found that some fruit is deteriorating, then it must be immediately removed from the cellar.
If condensation appears on the pumpkin, it should be thoroughly wiped with a dry cloth, then ventilate the cellar and check how the ventilation system works. Typically, condensation appears when humidity is high. If water droplets are not dried, dark spots form on the pumpkin, which turn into rot. For preventive purposes, quicklime can be put in the cellar, since it absorbs excess moisture perfectly.
In the apartment
In an apartment it’s much harder to keep a pumpkin in the winter, because for this you will need to find a lot of space, create temperature conditions and darkness. The task will be much easier if the apartment has a pantry. In this case, the pumpkin can be stored according to the following rules:
- For best preservation, put the fruits in a container, for example, in a cardboard box, wooden box, box or plastic container. For these purposes, plastic or cellophane bags cannot be used, since condensation will accumulate in them, which will lead to the formation of a favorable environment for the development of harmful fungi.
- Place under the fruit, as well as between, parchment paper or a small layer of dry straw. In the future, the litter should be changed if it becomes damp.
- Put containers with vegetables on the shelves of the pantry.
- Ventilate the room regularly and maintain optimal temperature (up to 10-15 ° C).
- From time to time, inspect pumpkins in order to promptly remove fruits that begin to deteriorate.
Even if the pumpkin is stored in the apartment, it cannot be washed, since the natural coating should be preserved on the peel, which is a kind of protection against vegetable damage.
If the apartment does not have a pantry, then another space can be allocated for pumpkin storage:
- Cool place near the windowsill. Under the fruits and between them you need to put cardboard or a thick layer of paper, and they should be installed with the stalks up. In the daytime, sunlight will fall on the pumpkin, which will lead to its rapid deterioration. To prevent this, the vegetable should be covered with a breathable material, for example, a cloth of linen or cotton.
- Glazed balcony or loggia. Cover the uninsulated floor with an old blanket on which to place the fruits with the stalks up and at a distance of 10 cm from each other. To protect from the sun, they need to be covered with a cloth. When the temperature drops, it is better to wrap the fruits using a cotton blanket. On the balcony you can also make shelves or racks, which are necessary to paint and whitewash to destroy fungi. After they can store pumpkin.
- Under the bed in a cool room. In extreme cases, the pumpkin can be kept under the bed. It can not be placed on linoleum or cement, so it is advisable to put plywood under it. Fruits still should not touch each other. As with other storage methods, they need to be stacked with the stalks up.
In a refrigerator
If the pumpkin has grown large, it will have to be divided into 2-3 parts, but in this case, the shelf life at room temperature will be significantly reduced - up to 3-4 days. In addition, for this you will need to dry the cut with a napkin and wrap the fruit in linen cloth to protect it from sunlight.
In the refrigerator, the sliced pumpkin is stored for about 7 days, if it is cut into pieces, which are neatly folded in clean plastic bags. To increase the storage time to a month, you can wrap the pumpkin in foil, but in this case the wrapper will have to be changed regularly, and the pieces of pumpkin should be greased with vegetable oil so that they do not dry.
The longest cut pumpkin can be stored in the freezer, but to prevent it from spoiling, you must first freeze it. Of course, in this case a lot will depend on the quality of freezing. It is produced as follows:
- Rinse the fruits, remove the peel and seeds, and then cut into small pieces.
- Place the chopped pumpkin in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
- Hold the chilled pumpkin for about 1.5 hours at room temperature.
- Dry the pumpkin in the oven for about 2 hours at a heating temperature of 50-60 ° C, and then cool.
- Put the pieces in special containers or bags for freezing, removing excess air. So that in the future it would not be necessary to defrost the whole pumpkin, it should be decomposed in containers for freezing in small portions - 300-500 g each.
- Place blanks in the freezer.
In this form, the pumpkin can be stored until next season.
To enjoy the pleasant taste of a vitamin vegetable, you need to properly defrost it. So that the pumpkin has lost less juice, it should be pulled out of the freezer and put on a shelf in the refrigerator. It will take about 10 hours to fully defrost. If you want to quickly defrost a pumpkin, then you can just put it in the sink, and after 5 hours eat it, but in this case it will turn out drier.
For the fastest possible defrosting, the pumpkin can be sent to the microwave by turning on the Defrost mode. If there is no such device, a bag of pumpkin can simply be thrown into a bowl of hot water. However, it should be noted that such methods adversely affect the structure of the pulp.
In what form to store?
In dried form
In order to simplify the storage of pumpkins, it can be dried. In this case, it will take up less space and will not deteriorate. For drying, you can use a conventional oven or a special electric dryer. It is carried out in several stages:
- Wash the peel of the pumpkin, and then separate the pulp and remove the seeds.
- Cut the pumpkin into small pieces, about 1 cm thick.
- Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper, on which to spread a thin layer of pumpkin slices.
- Heat the oven to 60 ° C and dry the pumpkin for 5 hours. Turn off the oven periodically. The temperature should not rise to 80 ° C. Such manipulations will not be required when using an electric oven that is able to maintain a constant temperature.
- Remove well-dried pieces and leave to cool.
Store dried pumpkin in containers without air.
In brine
This method will allow you to save the pumpkin until spring, so you can enjoy your favorite vegetable all winter. Salted pumpkin is prepared as follows:
- Rinse the peel, and then cut the fruit into slices and remove the seeds.
- Pieces into sterilized jars.
- Prepare the brine - in 1.5 liters of chilled boiled water dissolve 3 tbsp. l salt.
- Pour the brine into cans with pumpkin, and to the very edges of the container, and cover with a plastic cover.
It is recommended to store cans of pumpkin in the cellar or refrigerator.
Marinated
The pickled pumpkin resembles a canned pineapple. This method of harvesting will allow you to feast on your favorite vegetable for a whole year and even more. It can be served as a side dish for meat or as an independent dish.
For marinating you will need the following ingredients:
- pumpkin - 1 pc.;
- water - 1, 5 l;
- citric acid - 1 hour with a slide;
- sugar - 150 g;
- salt - 1 tbsp. l .;
- lemongrass - 7 leaves;
- pink radiola - 7 g.
To prepare the pickled product, you will also need a pre-sterilized glass jar.
Pumpkin is pickled as follows:
- Wash the medium-sized pumpkin, separate the pulp and remove the seeds. Cut the pulp into small cubes.
- Cook the pumpkin for about 5 minutes, and then toss the boiled pieces into a sterilized jar.
- Prepare the fill by boiling water with sugar, salt, citric acid, magnolia vine leaves and Rhodiola rosea powder.
- Pour in a jar of pumpkin.
- Roll up the jar with a metal lid and turn over for a while.
Store pickled pumpkin in a cool place, and better in the cellar.
How long can a pumpkin be stored?
You can store pumpkin at different times, since it all depends on the conditions created and the methods of processing it:
- fresh pumpkin, cut into pieces, is stored in the refrigerator for 7 to 30 days;
- in an apartment, the shelf life is about 4-6 months, but there are pumpkin varieties and individual specimens that are stored for up to 12 months;
- if the vegetable is laid out on shelves in the cellar, then it can be kept in this form until spring;
- frozen and canned pumpkin can be stored for 1 year;
- dried pumpkin in a well-sealed container can be stored for 1.5 to 2 years.
Storage errors
Many summer residents who grow pumpkins on their own make a number of mistakes that shorten their shelf life. These include:
- picking an unripe vegetable that quickly molds and begins to rot;
- watering pumpkins a week before harvest (being in damp, the fruit begins to deteriorate quickly);
- sending fruits for storage in the cellar without preliminary drying in the sun and in a dry place;
- pumpkin storage in a cellar on shelves with raw wood or on a cement floor;
- laying pumpkins for storage in one cellar with apples that produce ethylene.
How to save a pumpkin so that it lay almost until the next harvest? The answer can be found in the video below:
Pumpkin is a healthy dietary product that can be stored for the winter in both fresh and processed form. To preserve all the useful properties of the product fresh, it is better not to store it for more than 6 months. It should be noted that the optimal shelf life of pumpkin is considered to be 2-3 months.