How to store beets for the winter at home, in an apartment, in the refrigerator, so as not to wither

Which varieties of beets are best for storage

Experienced gardeners plant not one variety of beets, but at least three. Early vegetables are consumed at the end of summer. Mid-season and late ripening by the end of September and are suitable for long-term storage in winter.

These include:

Renova. Late grade. Cylindrical, dark purple flesh. Weight - from 180 to 350 g.
Libero. Mid-season variety. Rounded, dark red, sugary. Weighs from 120 to 220 g.
Incomparable. Late grade. Rounded flat, dark red flesh with black rings. Root crops weighing from 180 to 380 g.
Bordeaux. Late grade. Rounded-flat shape, dense flesh of rich dark red color. Weight from 230 to 510 g.
Egyptian flat. Mid-season variety. The shape is flat, cherry color with a purple tint. Large root vegetables weighing from 300 to 550 g.
Mulatto. Mid-season variety. Rounded shape, bright cherry color. Weight - from 150 to 300 g.
Bravo. Mid-season variety. Flat-round shape, burgundy color. Root crops - from 200 to 750 g.
Rocket. Mid-season variety. The shape is cylindrical, the color is bright red without rings. Weight - 350-450 g.
Cylinder Vital... Mid-season variety. Cylindrical, dark red. Weight - 250-350 g.

All these varieties "lie" well in winter, because they contain:

13-18% dry matter;
more than 10% sugars;
from 100 to 250 mg / kg of nitrates.

Such a composition in mid-season and late varieties allows them to survive well in winter.

Storage periods

While maintaining the optimal temperature and humidity conditions, the shelf life of beets is 4-6 months, late varieties will remain juicy until the next harvest.

The shelf life can be extended if the roots are selected correctly. In addition to the conditions for the integrity of vegetables, their size plays a significant role. The ideal size of beets is 10 cm in diameter. Too small roots quickly lose moisture, shrivel and become soft. Large - reduce their taste, have a fibrous structure.

How long beets are stored can be ignored if rot appears. One accidentally rotted root vegetable can spoil the rest. Vegetables must be periodically examined and sorted out.

How to save beets for the winter: preparing root crops

Vegetables can be stored for a long time if they are properly prepared:

Dig it out carefully. With a shovel, dig in a root crop and pull it by the tops.
In dry weather, ventilate the beets in the air for 3-4 hours. Root vegetables with moist soil are cleaned and dried in a well-ventilated area for 3-4 days.
Cut off the tops, leaving 1-2 cm.
Carefully peel the root crop from the lateral roots without damaging the skin.
Cut off the root, leaving 3-4 cm.
Sorted by size, inspected for mechanical damage, black spots, etc.
Medium-sized vegetables are chosen for storage for the winter.

Factors affecting storage duration

In addition to the above storage factors, such as the variety, harvesting conditions and primary processing, it is necessary to take into account a number of conditions, the fulfillment of which will allow you to preserve your harvest for 7-8 months:

Storing beets in winter

Dark storage room (yes, beets love it)
Temperature from 0 to +2 (both freezing and overheating must not be allowed, otherwise the tops may start to sprout)
Humidity should remain within 90-92%
Root crops should be stored at a height of at least 15 centimeters from the floor so that free air circulation is not disturbed.

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Storing beets in a city apartment

Beet storage conditions:

in a dark, ventilated place;
with a temperature from 0 ° С to + 2 ° С;
humidity - from 90% to 95%.

As you can see, long-term storage of beets in a city apartment is difficult.

Storing root vegetables in the refrigerator

Beets are kept in the refrigerator for no more than 30-45 days. After that, it gradually loses its beneficial properties. Root crops are preserved in several ways:

Unwashed, but peeled from the ground, sweet roots are placed in plastic bags. Several holes are made in the bags. Packaged root vegetables lie in a vegetable container for up to 6 weeks.
To be kept in vacuum bags, vegetables are washed. Experienced housewives are advised to do the treatment in a saline solution. After the roots are dried, sealed in bags and placed in the refrigerator.
Plastic containers serve as a convenient container. Washed vegetables can be stored under a tightly closed lid for up to 4-5 weeks.
For short-term storage in the refrigerator, they are placed in a vegetable box with other products. A medium-sized root crop will last 2-3 weeks.

Is it possible to keep beets in the freezer

In the freezer, beets are stored for a long time, but they lose some of their beneficial properties. The taste of the vegetable will change slightly, but the color will remain bright.

Experienced housewives prepare "semi-finished products". For convenient use, they grind beets on a coarse grater, cut into cubes, strips. Using a blender or meat grinder, grind the root vegetables into small crumbs.

Chopped vegetables are placed in bags or containers, put into the freezer. The shelf life is 2-3 months. After this time, the vegetable begins to dry out.

Storing beets in plastic bags

Unwashed, dried, peeled from the ground, the roots are placed in bags without tying them. Choose a dark, cool place in the apartment, away from the heating system.

In such conditions, medium-sized root crops will last no more than a month.

On the balcony

There are several ways to store vegetables on a glazed and insulated balcony:

In boxes of sand. A layer of sand moistened with water is poured into a wooden container. Prepared vegetables are "planted" in a box so that the roots do not touch each other. Top covered with sand.
In boxes with sawdust. The principle is the same. The sawdust is not wetted.
In clay. It is diluted to the state of liquid sour cream. Each vegetable is dipped, dried and placed in a container.
In plastic bags. Untied packages of vegetables are placed on shelves and in cabinets. Loosely covered with a cloth, protecting from direct sunlight.

Low wooden boxes or plastic containers are convenient for storing vegetables. Medium-sized root vegetables are well stored.

How to store beets in an apartment

In winter, vegetables are stored in the apartment:

On the balcony... Necessary conditions - glazed, insulated. Shelf life is up to 5-6 months.
In the pantry... Conditions - located in an apartment away from the kitchen, there is no battery nearby. Vegetables are stored for up to 1 month.
In a refrigerator. In the vegetable drawer, food is up to 1.5 months.
In the freezer. The optimal shelf life is no more than 3 months.

How does this affect the quality of the product?

The main task is for the vegetable to remain of high quality and fresh, so that it does not sluggish, does not germinate and does not lose its taste and nutritional properties. To do this, you must observe correct conditions:

constant temperature 2-4 degrees above zero;
high humidity about 80%;
there is ventilation, but no drafts;
the room or shelf is dark without the sun's rays (when stored in an apartment);
at least 15 cm above floor level.

In this case, of course, the room and storage boxes must be clean, free of mold and foreign odors.If the temperature rises above 4 degrees Celsius, then the vegetable begins to actively germinate, giving roots and tops - this is the main reason why the fruit becomes soft and withers.

Joint storage of vegetables

If potatoes are stored in an apartment, then the method is used - on top of the potatoes. These vegetables stick well together. Potatoes give off unnecessary moisture, and beets absorb, retaining their firmness and juiciness.

Beets are perfectly stored interspersed with radish. The bactericidal and antimicrobial properties of the radish protect against the development of vegetable diseases.

There are many ways to store beets in a city apartment. After trying different methods, you can choose the one that works best for your home. If you follow the conditions for optimal storage or try to get closer to them, fresh home beets will be on your table for a whole year.

On the balcony

A warm balcony will be an excellent storage facility if the temperature on it is not lower than 0 ° C on the coldest days. One way to store it is in a wooden box or sand basket. Sealed containers cannot be used; containers must be well ventilated. Dry root vegetables are stacked in rows in a box and sprinkled with a layer of sand abundantly. Vegetables are positioned without touching each other.

To destroy all harmful microorganisms, river sand is calcined in the sun or burned in the oven. The box can be insulated with foam and additionally covered with a warm blanket. On the coldest days, vegetables are brought into the apartment and placed near the balcony. Instead of sand, sawdust or peat are often used. If the beets do not freeze, then they are well stored for up to 8 months.

Final preparation for storage

Cleaning beets from soil residues

If there is a lot of it left, then the dried soil peels off quite easily. No effort should be made, otherwise there is a risk of damage to the vegetable shell. Here you need to take into account the following nuance: it is necessary to remove only those lumps of dried earth that, when laid for storage, can damage other tubers. By itself, its layer is a kind of protective shell for beets, protecting them from direct exposure to external factors. First of all, changes in humidity and temperature. Therefore, unlike some other crops, beet tubers are not washed before laying for long-term storage! Even for the final removal of dirt. It is from this that one should proceed so as not to "overdo it."

Pruning tubers

Another common mistake is twisting (breaking) the tops. Only cut it off, so that a small (about 1 - 1.5 cm) "tail" remains. The same applies to the lateral roots. It is better to cut them off with scissors, carefully, being careful not to damage the skin of the beets.

Main root

In principle, it is better not to touch it. But if it is large enough, then with the storage of such beets there will be some problems in terms of compactness of laying for long-term storage. If necessary, the root can be trimmed, but so that the remaining part is no shorter than 6 ± 1 cm.

Where is it better to store

If you intend to store the crop of tubers in an apartment, then a glazed balcony, a loggia or a large refrigerator will be the best places. In a private home, you can store crops in the basement. Sometimes it is allowed to keep vegetables in the attic if there is no cellar. But on condition that it is unheated.

In the basement

You can store beets in bulk or packed in containers - boxes, packages, bags. Each owner chooses the method for himself, depending on the available conditions.

Different storage methods

Tip: before you distribute the beets in the container, be sure to sort them by quality and size. It is important to remove substandard from the harvested crop - rotten and spoiled fruits, wounded and damaged beets.

When to harvest

Believe it or not, adhering to the principles of harvesting beets helps you keep your harvest well.Follow these tips from experienced summer residents:

Cleaning is best done when the air temperature is around 0, but not lower. Cold promotes better preservation of the fetus and temperature drops are not needed.
Dig up the fruits carefully so as not to damage them with a bayonet shovel.
Cut the tops not under the spine, but so that 5-7 cm of its pancakes remain.
Remove large clods of soil from the beets, but do not peel them completely if possible.

Important: after harvesting, the tubers must be well dried. They are poured on oilcloth in a sunny, well-ventilated place. Enough 5-6 hours for the crop to dry out. If it's damp outside, then the father-in-law is dried indoors or under a canopy.

Interesting: What can be planted after which in the garden

Beet harvest rules

How long the beet tubers will be stored at home largely depends on how accurately the recommendations for this item are followed.

Weather

It's short here - the day must be dry. Preferably with a little breeze. And not because poking around in wet soil is long and tedious. If you choose the right weather conditions, the process of preliminary drying of beets before storing them for winter storage will be significantly accelerated. And a light breeze will help with this.

Such foresight will save you from many problems - transporting tubers to a new place (in case of precipitation), cleaning under a canopy or indoors, and the like. Drying beets directly on the site on the day they are harvested from the beds gives significant time savings.

Tool

Mostly summer residents use a shovel. But beets are planted in plots with seeds, and quite densely, but few people are engaged in their thinning. As a result, root tubers are located close enough to one another. It is the shovel that is one of the main reasons for the rejection of beets - cuts are inevitable. Experienced gardeners often use a garden pitchfork when harvesting vegetables from their beds.

The procedure for removing tubers from the ground

Here, summer residents with little experience also make a typical mistake - they pull out beets. The logic is clear - the ground is soft, the vegetable is shallowly rooted, which means “it will go like that”. The implementation of this technology leads to the fact that the skin of the tubers is damaged in many places (by small stones, hard pieces of soil, and so on). Beets with such defects are unlikely to last more than 2 - 3 months. And there is no need to talk about the period until spring. Rot, various infections can easily penetrate deep into the tuber and do their job.

How to dig up beets correctly?

For those who have never done this before, it is worth noting - you need to start from the border of the garden, preferably from the corner. The working part of the tool is immersed in the ground strictly vertically, after which the earth layer is gently lifted. Several tubers will go up with it. Holding the stalk with one hand, with the other, in turn, all the roots are taken out of the soil and placed near the plot, so as not to interfere with further work. And so - over the entire area of the site with beets.