Potato- a nutritious vegetable present in every family. Potato harvesting begins in August, those who do not grow potatoes on their plots try to stock up on potatoes for the winter, buying from farmers.
So that the potatoes do not deteriorate and remain until the next harvest, it is necessary to properly organize storage space and prepare tubers.
Today we will take a closer look at the main places potato storage, harvesting dates, how to store seed potatoes.
A month before the drying of the tops of potatoes, the tubers are poured, accumulate starch and other substances. The main thing is to harvest potatoes on time.
At early potato harvest the skin will not yet have time to ripen and the potatoes will not overwinter badly.
If a be late with the potato harvest, tubers can get sick with rhizoctonia, or a fungal disease of late blight. These diseases reduce the shelf life of potatoes.
Dig up potatoes in dry weather, leaving to dry in the open air. Collection time early varieties of potatoes end of July, beginning of August.
Mid-season varieties harvested in mid-August, late-ripening and late potato varieties harvested at the end of August, beginning of September.
Therefore, try to harvest the potatoes within the specified time, otherwise, in rainy weather, the potatoes will absorb a lot of moisture, will hurt and rot. In dry weather, the tubers become soft.
When storing, try to store different varieties of potatoes separately.
Cut off the tops 2 weeks before harvesting the potatoes, this will help the tubers ripen better.
Dug out potatoes must be dried indoors (garage, barn, house) for 1-3 weeks.
If you dig in dry sunny weather, the potatoes will dry better in the sun, but no more than 2-4 hours, the potatoes may turn green. Then be sure to dry indoors, and then sort out the tubers.
Separately select rotten, green and damaged tubers, they are not suitable for long-term storage.
Always store damaged tubers separately from good ones.
How long can you store potatoes? medium size, well dried, without rot, cuts or flaws.
For medium storage select the largest tubers.
For the smallest storage spoiled tubers are suitable.
Attention: this is an important step in preparing tubers for long-term storage, so do not spare low-quality potatoes, throw away rotten potatoes less in the spring.
Video - 5 mistakes when storing potatoes
The best place to store potatoes is cellar or cellar. This is a cool and dark room, always dry and clean. In summer, the basement is prepared for storage, bleached and ventilated.
Lime mortar for whitewashing the cellar: 3 kg of lime per 10 liters of water, add 100 g of copper sulfate.
The basement maintains an optimal temperature for storing potatoes of 2-3 degrees and a humidity of 80%.
When the temperature deviates above 3-4 degrees, the potatoes begin to germinate, when the temperature drops below 0, the potatoes become sweet due to freezing.
It is best to store potatoes in wooden bins that allow air to pass through. Bins fall asleep 1 meter high, covered with an old blanket or burlap.
Before storage, the boxes are prepared: repair, clean, dry and disinfect with lime.
To prevent potatoes from sprouting in boxes, put a few apples, mint, wormwood, fern.
To absorb excess moisture, you can put straw on the boxes or pour sawdust.
For the entire storage period, it is necessary to sort out the potatoes 2-3 times, removing rotten, frozen and spoiled tubers.
Ventilate the basement from time to time, vegetables breathe, and condensation can form on the walls. It is better to organize a ventilation pipe in the cellar, humidity has a bad effect on the preservation of the crop.
Video - Storing potatoes in the cellar
If you have harvested a large crop of potatoes and it does not fit in the cellar, you can store the potatoes in a specially made pit.
For the construction of the pit, a place is chosen located far from groundwater, with dense and dry soil. Dig a hole 1.5 m deep and 2 m wide. Special gutters are made to drain rainwater.
Straw is laid at the bottom of the pit, potatoes are covered, leaving a space up to the top of 0.5-0.7 m. Cover with straw 10 cm thick on top and put dry boards on the pit. Ground is poured onto the boards in several stages.
In apartments, potatoes can be stored on the balcony. If the balcony is glazed, just cover the crates or sacks of potatoes with blankets. But this is enough for temperatures up to -10 degrees.
For better preservation of the crop, it is better to build a storage facility from thick plywood or boards. This box is sheathed with plastic or painted so that it does not let moisture through.
The box must be equipped with a double bottom or a double lid. Fill the void with insulation - foam or sawdust. The sides of the box should also be insulated.
As storage, you can use the old refrigerator by turning it upside down. Such storage will withstand frost down to -20 degrees.
In the absence of a balcony in the apartment, the potatoes are stored in a dark place. The shelf life of such potatoes is reduced to 1 month, the tubers begin to germinate and become lethargic and soft.
Video - Storage box for vegetables on the balcony
Storing potatoes in the refrigerator
Do not store potatoes in the refrigerator. At low temperatures, the starch contained in the potato turns into sugar, and the taste of the potato changes.
Potatoes get wet and rot in the refrigerator, and many tubers will not fit for storage. To restore the taste of potatoes, take them out of the refrigerator and leave them to soak in a warm, dark room.
For sowing, gardeners select and store seed potatoes. It is important to keep such potatoes until spring. Choose medium-sized, not spoiled, ripened tubers for planting.
Be sure to dry the tubers well, and store at a temperature of 2-3 degrees. A month before disembarkation, the temperature is gradually increased.
The presentation of washed potatoes is much better. If you are going to wash the potatoes before storing, be careful not to damage the skins. After washing, dry and spread the potatoes in a thin layer.
After 2 weeks, potatoes can be sorted out and poured into the cellar with birch ash.
If the rules of cultivation and storage are violated, the potato turns black inside.
This happens when there is an excess of nitrogen in the soil; when introducing fresh manure into the soil, harvesting is not on time, poor preparation of tubers for storage.
Potatoes do not like the introduction of fresh organic fertilizers, they are subject to fungal diseases with an excess of nitrogen. During the formation of tubers, potatoes must be watered.
Often untimely harvesting leads to browning of potatoes. Be sure to dry and refrigerate the potatoes before storing, otherwise they will quickly deteriorate.
Video - What to do so that the potatoes do not germinate?
Properly prepare potatoes and storage before storing potatoes. If you approach the preparation and storage correctly, your crop will be well preserved until spring or even until new potatoes appear in the garden.
Store your potatoes the right way and it will last a long time!
Many housewives ask themselves the question: is it possible to store potatoes in the refrigerator? This article will discuss where it is worth storing potatoes and at what temperature, how to maximize the useful substances of the vegetable.
It is known that there are foods that are undesirable to store in the cold. These include, for example, garlic, onions and our favorite potatoes.
How can this be explained? There are several reasons:
- Deterioration of the taste of a vegetable, because it is known that starch (which is in such abundance in potatoes) breaks down into sugars already at a temperature of + 5C.
- The tubers become dark and have an unpleasant sweetish aftertaste.
- Potatoes become damp, sprout quickly, and are more prone to spoilage and rot.
In addition to these reasons, one can also name one more - the inconvenience of storing a large amount of vegetables due to the fact that it simply takes up a lot of space in the refrigerator. But if it does happen that you have purchased potatoes and are going to store them in the cold, then it is best to use them within a week so that they do not stale.
Important! Store potatoes in the refrigerator as far as possible from the freezer and carefully monitor the required temperature.
How to store potatoes in the refrigerator
Pre-boiled potatoes also deserve special attention, which can not always be eaten immediately. How long can you keep boiled potatoes in the refrigerator? Cooks do not advise doing this at all, since every hour potatoes lose their taste and nutritional qualities. In extreme cases, you can put unpeeled (boiled "in uniforms") tubers in a food vessel, close and use for 3 days, no more.
If you have purchased a large number of potatoes for the winter, then you must definitely take into account the basic rules for storing vegetables.
Optimal storage conditions for potatoes:
- in the cellar;
- on the insulated balcony;
- in the closet.
The most important thing is to maintain the desired temperature (it should be 5-7 degrees Celsius) and humidity (no more than 85%). If you still need to store potatoes in the refrigerator, then you need to place it in a paper bag, in no case plastic. It is believed that under such conditions, the vegetable can be stored for 5-6 months and eaten as soon as possible.
The same storage rules apply to young spring and early summer potatoes as to mature ones, but it should be remembered that the younger the potato, the more useful it is. In summer, it is hot in a city apartment and often there are no other places to store potatoes except for a refrigerator, in this case, buy them in small portions.
You should never eat wilted, shriveled, greenish-stained potatoes. It is imperative to cut off these places, and throw away completely green potatoes.
So, in order to maximize the amount of vitamins and nutrients, you should buy potatoes as needed. If you need to keep this vegetable for a large amount of time, then you need to carefully monitor the storage temperature and from time to time carefully sort out and ventilate the potatoes. By following these simple rules, you can preserve vitamins and excellent taste of potatoes for a long time.
Potatoes are an indispensable product for most dishes, they are eaten both on weekdays and on holidays, and even during the unexpected arrival of guests or relatives. Potatoes can be served with a delicacy and as a separate dish. So to speak, everyone without exception eats it, regardless of age criteria or social status. It's no secret that the potato harvest in Russia takes place in autumn, often in September or October. But how to store a vegetable in a suitable condition for cooking: do not freeze, do not rot, do not let it dry, turn green and do not let shoots. It is about the correct ways to store potatoes that will be discussed in this article.
A bit of history
Peter the Great brought potatoes to decorate flower beds and court lawns. With his appearance, peasants and commoners developed a not cunning belief. After all, potatoes have eyes, respectively, to eat it means to eat the human soul. It is for this reason that he did not gain popularity in those days. Under no pretext did people agree to grow it, let alone cook it as food. The kings of many countries went to different sophistication, offered rewards, gold, medals, land. But nothing could influence the peasants. Only after 1850, this product was tasted, and they began to be massively planted throughout Russia and in other countries.
Potatoes are a finicky product, because if stored incorrectly, they can freeze or flake. If this happens, then you just have to throw it away, because harmful substances and poisons accumulate in it. She is no longer able to produce offspring, that is, unsuitable for landing.
Potato storage outside the home
Based on the above, two ways of storing the product can be distinguished: in an apartment (house) or outside the house - in a garage or on the street. Let's consider these methods in more detail.
The most popular and practical storage method is the cellar. It maintains the optimum air temperature both in winter and in summer - about 4 degrees. But before lowering the potatoes, they should be dried in the fresh air, preferably on the sunny side. This will ensure that it dries out, which subsequently protects it from the rotting process. In this case, vegetables should not be placed in bags, they must breathe. To do this, plank boxes are made, with slots from 4-5 centimeters, or the floor of the cellar is lined with timber, boards, and a thick layer of sawdust. After that, the potatoes fall asleep to a height of no more than one and a half meters.
Remember, vegetables do not like cold and frost, so to be safe, cover them with burlap and insulate the cellar until spring. In no case do not open it earlier, you can ruin the entire product.
How to store potatoes in an apartment?
There are 4 ways to store potatoes in an apartment in a usable, or rather, for cooking, form.
Storage under the sink or kitchen sink
To store potatoes in an apartment, choose a dark and cool place with optimal humidity, while avoiding plastic bags or non-breathable, airtight bags. The most optimal is a wicker basket, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry, you can take a bucket or basin and make holes in it for air circulation.
Storing potatoes on a balcony or loggia
And here is another way to store vegetables, including potatoes in the apartment. To do this, you can make or buy a box (box) made of boards or other wooden material: timber, pressed sawdust. If the balcony is not glazed and does not have any protection from the weather, then insulate the box with foam plastic from the inside and old warm clothes - jackets, sheepskin coats, fur coats or a blanket, outside. As you know, the foam does not decompose and does not break down into components from temperature changes, and winter things keep heat inside.
Tip: if you are facing the problem of the appearance of offshoots while storing potatoes, then you can put apples or mint leaves in the container. Joint storage of potatoes and these products ensures their safety for a long time without visible signs of spoilage or germination.
Storing potatoes in the refrigerator
Khrushchev's refrigerator is called a cabinet, which is located under the kitchen window. In winter, the temperature in it varies depending on the weather conditions in your area. It is higher than on the street, but lower than in the apartment. Ideally, if your living space is equipped with this type of “appliance”, then you can introduce a thermometer that will tell you whether it is worth covering and insulating potatoes or, conversely, removing all insulation.
In elite houses or apartments that have been overhauled, the Khrushchev refrigerator is made of plastic with a control hole, in the image and likeness of the neck of a plastic bottle. It’s easier here, a lower temperature is needed - they unscrewed the lid, if a higher one is needed, they screwed it on.
As for the storage itself, the principle is the same as in all previous cases. The only disadvantage of storage in refrigerators is the small capacity of the product, you must agree that it is not advisable to fill it from top to bottom with one potato.
Storage in the entrance or hallway
In office premises, the temperature is always lower than in residential ones. But it is worth taking care of the safety of your potatoes, because there is always a thief for a freely stored product. Therefore, you should put a box with a well-closing lock, but it is better to fix it to the flooring: nail it or screw it onto long screws.
It should be remembered that if you choose a corridor that enters the living room as a storage method, take care of the optimal moisture content of the product.
If the apartment is hot and the temperature is above 26 degrees, then the potatoes can simply dry out, and to prevent this from happening, you can put a cut plastic bottle near the storage container in which to control the presence of water.
You can store potatoes in the refrigerator in any form. Often we do this without thinking about whether there are time limits and how long a boiled or raw vegetable can be stored in the refrigerator. But few people know that improper handling of potatoes can play a cruel joke on our digestion and such a healthy product can even become dangerous.
Keeping fresh
Nutrition experts advise keeping potatoes in the cold for as little time as possible. We are currently talking about raw potatoes. What does it have to do with:
- When the temperature drops, raw potato tubers begin to take root, it begins to rot and deteriorate. As a result, the vegetable will not lie on the shelf for long, soon it will have to be thrown away.
- Starch actively decomposes at a temperature of +5C. The longer the potatoes lie in the refrigerator, the less useful substances will remain in it.
- The frozen product acquires a sweet taste, becomes loose after cooking.
In addition, how to store potatoes in the refrigerator, if you can fit a lot, it still won’t work. It is believed that the maximum time at which raw potatoes can be stored in the refrigerator is 5-7 days. The ideal temperature for this product is about + 5C, while the humidity should not exceed 85%. Choose shelves that are away from the freezer. Try not to let the vegetable touch the walls. A plastic bag is not the best container for storing potatoes. It is better to stay on paper.
Well, if you have your own basement. But often the owners of apartments do not have such an opportunity. Potatoes spoil quickly in heat, so they are forced to put them in the refrigerator. You should not buy a large amount of it, it is better to get by with a minimum than to eat a spoiled product.
If the potatoes are already peeled
- You have a peeled potato left, and you do not plan to use it yet. How long can you keep peeled potatoes in the refrigerator? You must remember:
- Peeled potatoes are stored only in water. At the same time, it should be well washed. In the open air, the vegetable will quickly darken, the taste of the product will deteriorate. Potatoes can be kept on the table in a container with water for only a few hours, in the refrigerator this period increases to a day.
- Peeled potatoes can be frozen. Put it in a bag, tie it up. When defrosting, do not use a microwave oven or leave it on the table. It is necessary to pour the product with steep salted boiling water, and then treat it as with ordinary peeled potatoes.
- If you dry the potatoes well with a napkin or towel, you can use the freeze dry method. In this case, you do not need to defrost it. It is enough to pour the slices into a heated pan with sunflower oil.
- Store whole potatoes in the refrigerator. If possible, do not cut it in half, into cubes, strips, etc.
boiled
Can you store potatoes in the refrigerator after cooking? It is possible, but again, not for long. Our national cuisine is famous for all kinds of potato dishes. As a result, it is possible that you boil too much. Where to put the rest, how and how much can it be stored? The first thing that comes to mind is to put it in the refrigerator until better times. But you need to do it right.
Place potatoes in the refrigerator only in a container with a tightly closed lid. You can keep it in the cold for no more than two days. Even if after the time the potatoes seem suitable for you to eat, this does not mean that they can be eaten. She can be dangerous. Better the next day, fry boiled potatoes with onions or even other vegetables in a pan. It is important to remember that the more additional ingredients you add to potatoes, the shorter their shelf life will be. It is better to throw away the leftovers than to poison yourself later.
Potato storage conditions:
Potatoes are carefully sorted before storage. Affected by rot and photofluorosis, with a foreign smell, tubers of dubious appearance are thrown away, the rest are dried in the fresh air under the sun.
How exactly to organize at home depends largely on the specific room in which the root crop will be located.
In a room or hallway
Potatoes will be stored in well-heated residential rooms for several weeks.. The chances of preserving the crop will increase significantly if the tubers are laid out in different places, for example, part in the pantry, and part on the balcony.
In the kitchen
- Choose a dark, well-ventilated area. Most often, the most convenient (and only) place is under the sink. You can use a special cabinet for storing vegetables with ventilation holes.
- A wooden tray of suitable size, a birch bark container or a wicker basket with selected tubers is placed in the selected niche.
In the pantry
An option for storing potatoes in a dwelling may be permanent storage in a pantry or corridor. You don’t have to come up with thermal insulation, it’s enough to protect the tubers from the light with the same rags.
- Potatoes are placed in selected bags made of natural, "breathable" material. They are not covered and wrapped.
- So that the tubers do not wilt, a wet cloth is hung in the room, which is moistened as it dries. You can put two or three basins of water and use an electric humidifier.
On the balcony
- A smaller box is placed in a large wooden box. The distance between the walls (which should be at least 10-12 cm) is filled with insulation: wood chips, sawdust or crushed foam. The bottom and lid are also insulated. The inner box should be without holes and slots, with 2-3 light bulbs of 15 watts, painted with dark paint (so that the potatoes do not turn green).
- Potatoes prepared for storage are poured into a box and wrapped on top with old clothes or a thick blanket. Fresh straw can be thrown on top. In such storage, tubers are stored at temperatures up to +7 degrees and they are not afraid of street frosts.
For small balconies, where there is no space for massive structures, special thermal containers are offered, compact and aesthetically beautiful. With the help of a thermostat, you can set the desired temperature inside and forget about the problem of storage for a long time.
You can reduce the moisture level in the box by sprinkling potatoes with onion peel and chalk, or by placing a couple of bags of dried elderberry or mint leaves on the bottom.
To prevent the potatoes from sprouting, you can put a layer of straw as a layer in the box.
How to increase the shelf life?
Storage boxes are pre-treated. It is necessary to treat with a disinfecting solution of copper sulphate, bleach or a strong solution of potassium permanganate, and then dry it on the street. Tubers in boxes are covered with spruce and pine branches, shifted with beets, which draw out excess moisture. You can find out more about how to store potatoes in a box.
Possible mistakes
First, let's talk about the most common storage errors that lead to damage to potatoes or a reduction in taste:
- Poor sorting.
- Placement for storage of early-ripening varieties not suitable for long-term storage.
- Storing side by side with other vegetables and fruits.
- Inappropriate storage conditions.
- Incorrectly chosen or insufficiently prepared place.
We offer you to watch a video about what mistakes are made most often when storing potatoes:
Conclusion
The first frosts will gladly spoil all the stocked tubers if the owner does not arrange in advance. What kind of tricks do not have to go at the same time! If there is no balcony, you can store potatoes in winter in an apartment in a dark place.. But, knowing the basic rules and listening to the recommendations of experienced gardeners, you can treat your loved ones with nutritious and tasty dishes from home stocks for a long time.
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