Sunday, June 24, 2007

BASIC COLD-STORING TECHNIQUES

BASIC COLD-STORING TECHNIQUES
Your vegetables must be harvested at just the right
moment so they'll take well to storing and won't decay
before you're ready to use them. Damaged or
imperfect vegetables will spoil quickly, so you must be
very careful when handling them prior to storing.
Never store bruised or damaged vegetables; they can
cause spoilage of your whole crop. It's usually
better to clean off but not wash vegetables before
storing, because washing can lead to the
development of soft rot.
With methods of food preservation, you can
process the food and then forget about it until you're
ready to use it. Not so with storage. Since the
temperature outdoors is the major factor affecting the.
storage of your vegetables, you have to be
constantly alert to the changes in weather. If it turns
suddenly colder, warmer, or wetter, you must
make whatever adjustments are needed to maintain
the proper conditions in your storage area. You
must also make regular spoilage checks of the boxes,
bags, or bins of vegetables stored indoors.
Handling
Harvest vegetables as late as possible. For many
vegetables, this means plant later than usual in order
to get a late harvest. You should wait until the first
frost warnings to harvest. Carrots, parsnips, potatoes,
and turnips, for example, can stay in the ground
even after the first frost or two, if the ground is well
mulched.
Pick only perfect vegetables for cold storage and
handle them carefully to avoid bruising. One bad item
can spread decay to others and ruin the whole box,
barrel, or mound.
Harvest on a dry day, if possible, and let the
vegetables dry on the ground, in the sun, for several
hours before packing them away. Onions often
need several days of drying; potatoes, however,
shouldn't be exposed to hot sun or strong wind.
Produce should be cool when packed.
Wash vegetables, if you must, but most experts
agree that all you really need to do is brush off excess
dirt. The vegetables should be dry before you pack
them.
Curing
Potatoes, pumpkins, and most types of winter
squash have to be cured before storing. Curing is
holding the vegetables at a warm temperature —
70°F to 85°F — in a dark, humid place for about 10
days. Curing hardens the skins and rinds and helps
heal surface cuts, reducing mold and rot damage.
Packing
Some vegetables — potatoes, onions, and
squash — can go from the garden right into boxes,
barrels, plastic bags, or other containers. Root
vegetables — such as beets, carrots, turnips, and
parsnips — are better packed in some material such
as newspaper that will insulate them, slow down their
breathing, and keep them from touching one
another, so decay can't spread from root to root.
You can wrap the vegetables separately in
newspaper, then pack them loosely in boxes, barrels,
or plastic bags. If you use plastic bags, poke a few
holes in the bags to allow some ventilation. Other
packing materials include damp or dry sand,
sawdust, peat, sphagnum moss, leaves, straw, or
wood shavings. Line the container with a layer of
packing wood material, then arrange a layer of
vegetables, leave space around each vegetable for
packing material. Fill in around each vegetable and
then again on top with a layer of packing material.
Repeat these steps until the container is full. Be
careful to leave enough room for examining the
produce at the bottom of the container when
you're making routine spoilage checks.
Moist sand is sometimes suggested for packing
certain vegetables. You'll know the sand is just the
right consistency if it feels cold and falls apart in
your hand when squeezed, leaving just a few particles
sticking to your skin.
DIRECTIONS FOR COLD-STORING VEGETABLES
If you plan to store a variety of vegetables, you'll
probably have to arrange several different kinds of
storage. The following directions for storing
vegetables tell you which methods are best suited to
each vegetable. Choose the one that works best for
your climate and your available space.
Artichokes
Cut the fleshy, tight buds before they open.
Artichokes are best stored in the refrigerator, but they
can be kept in cold storage. Store on shelves or
loosely packed in open boxes at 32°F to 34°F and 90 to
95 percent humidity (moist), with some air
circulation. Store in a basement storage room or root
cellar up to 1 month.
Beans, dried (broad, dry, or lima)
Dried beans won't freeze, and will store well when
properly dried and packaged. Dry them according to
the instructions in "How to Dry Vegetables." Then
store them at 32°F to 50°F and 65 to 70 percent humidity
(dry), with some air circulation. Store in a dry shed
or attic for 10 to 12 months.
Beets
Choose late-maturing varieties and leave them in
the ground until after the first few frosts. Dig them up
when the soil is dry, and leave them on the ground
for 3 or 4 hours. Remove the tops, leaving about 1/2
inch of the crowns. Don't remove the roots. Pack in
packing material in wooden boxes, barrels, plastic
bags with air holes, or in a mound or buried barrel.
Store at 32°F to 34°F and 90 to 95 percent humidity
(moist), with just a little air circulation. Beets will
freeze at 30°F. Store in a basement storage room, root
cellar, mound, or buried barrel for 5 to 6 months.
Broccoli
Harvest in late fall. Remove the root, but leave the
leaves on as protection. Pack in boxes; separate and
cover the stalks with moist sand. Store at 32°F to 34°F
and 90 to 95 percent humidity (moist), with some air
circulation. Broccoli will freeze at about 30°F. Store
in a basement storage room or root cellar up to 3
weeks.

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