Making vitamin reserves - how to store apples for the winter so that they do not disappear
From about the middle of summer, summer residents start the apple season and the hot season. Usually, summer varieties are used for various preparations (compotes, juices, preserves), and later fruits are already left for fresh consumption. In order to have natural vitamins on hand in the off-season, it is important to know how to store apples for the winter. And the most important thing is to choose the right variety that can lie until spring without losing its taste and appetizing appearance.
What apples to choose for storage
The longest shelf life is in winter varieties, and it is they that are put off for the winter. Such apples have a thicker and rougher peel, it reliably protects the pulp from spoilage. Early winter apples will stay until the end of winter, winter varieties are stored even longer - until mid-spring. Late winter species do last until summer.
Most often, such varieties of apples with increased keeping quality are left for storage for the winter:
- Renet Simirenko;
- Idared;
- Sinap Orlovsky;
- Mac;
- Red Delicious;
- Jonathan;
- Lobo;
- Antaeus.
However, even these fruits cannot be stored for a long time if the requirements for storage conditions are not observed. First of all, this concerns the temperature in the room - it should be within 0-4 ° C of heat. In addition, it should be dark and moderately humid there - about 80%, otherwise the fruits will begin to rot. And to prevent an increase in humidity, it is advisable to periodically ventilate the room.
How to store apples for the winter in a cellar / basement
The most ideal option is to store the fruit in the designated areas. You can do this in one of the following ways:
- putting apples in one layer on the shelves;
- placing fruits in boxes, sprinkling them with sawdust;
- wrapping each fruit in paper and folding them in cardboard boxes;
- putting the apples in small plastic bags (up to 2 kg each), but they can only be tied the next day.
In rooms with low humidity, apples are shifted with oiled paper (it is soaked in vegetable oil). Then they will not dry out.
Features of storing apples in an apartment
Residents of high-rise buildings are not as lucky as the owners of private property. Sometimes their only room where you can store old things, canned goods and vegetables with fruits is a balcony or loggia. They are suitable for storing crops only if insulated.
Apples are also put in boxes, making a layer of straw, sawdust or paper between each row. A small amount of fruit can still be put in bags in the refrigerator. It is advisable to make cuts in the bags themselves so that condensation does not accumulate.