How to store zucchini?

Zucchini is a vegetable growing in the summer, from which you can cook many delicious, and most importantly, healthy dishes. Mistresses who know how to store zucchini can easily indulge their family with dishes from them at any time of the year. In this article, we will share with you secrets of how to keep this vegetable fresh and suitable for cooking various dishes for a long time.

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Choose a product suitable for long-term storage

Before embarking on preparatory actions, harvesting and choosing a method of storing zucchini for the winter, you should familiarize yourself with which varieties are suitable for this purpose. Not every type of such vegetable is subject to long-term storage.

Only the following types are suitable for this.

Specially designed winter varieties:

• Festival.
• Golden goblet.
• Gribovsky.

Important! A distinctive feature of such varieties are the large sizes of vegetable fruits, a dense crust and a small number of seeds.

Other varieties

In addition to specially bred varieties, the following are suitable for long-term storage:

• Anchor is one of the early ripening varieties of zucchini, a distinctive feature of which is the flesh of light yellow color. Such fruits can be stored without loss of quality for a period of up to 1 month.
• Negro - this type of zucchini got its name due to its unusually black-green color. Such vegetables are stored for about 2 months.
• Yellow-fruited - this variety of squash is characterized by a slightly ribbed cylindrical shape of the fruit, which can lie up to 3 months.
• Assete - these vegetables are large and practically seedless. Such fruits can be used for 3.5 months.
• Arlica - cylindrical zucchini, which are dark in color and have a particularly long shelf life.
• Aeronaut - this species has a cylindrical shape of fruits that differ in a dark green hue. Zucchini reaches full ripeness in just 46-48 days and can be stored for 4 months without loss of taste.

Zucchini

Among zucchini, the following varieties are distinguished by excellent qualities for storage:

• Gypsy
• Nero de Milano;
• Zolotinka;
• Bumblebee;
• Aeronaut;
• Zebra;
• Handsome black man;
• Squash;
• Multi-storey.

Important! Carefully choose the right variety. So you can not only properly store zucchini, but also cook from them exactly those dishes that you like the most.

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Storage Preparation Rules

1. Preparation for long-term storage begins in the process of harvesting: It is necessary to collect vegetable fruits before the onset of frost, otherwise, fruit rot may occur.
2. If your zucchini is a little frozen, it will not work for a long time to keep the zucchini.
3. When collecting zucchini for storage, try to leave a leg with a length of at least 5-6 cm. This approach to collecting fruits will protect them from drying out, and will also prevent infections from entering the vegetables.
4. It is the leg in winter that is the main indicator of the state of squash. Having noticed the slightest changes in the condition of vegetables, their storage should be stopped.

Important! Based on the above recommendations, the fact is obvious that only independently grown vegetables that you personally collect from the garden are suitable for storage.

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What can not be done when storing zucchini?

When preparing vegetable fruits for long-term storage, the following cannot be done:

• The zucchini selected for storage in the cellar does not need to be washed - just brush off the ground slightly from their surface.
• Do not put vegetable fruits in a plastic bag - zucchini must be stored exclusively in the clear.
• Do not cut the leg very short.

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Rules for storing zucchini in the cellar

The most suitable for long-term storage of vegetables are cellars or basements of a residential building. In preparation for the cold season, special attention should be paid to compliance with the sanitary standards of the cellar, which should be dry and cool.

To be able to store zucchini for a long time, the room must have the following characteristics:

1. Get rid of the pest cellar. If you have found bugs, cockroaches or rats, then be sure to pay attention to their destruction before laying the zucchini. After disinfection, carry out a general cleaning and try to maintain the cleanliness of the room.
2. There should be no mold in the cellar. To prevent its occurrence, take care of the organization of high-quality ventilation and protection of the room from the penetration of groundwater.
3. Long-term storage of zucchini is possible in temperature conditions from +4 to +10 ° C.

Zucchini can be placed in the cellar only after its preparation. Keep zucchini better by the following rules:

1. It is most practical to arrange vegetable fruits on shelves that are previously sprinkled with hay or covered with wax paper.
2. After placing your zucchini should not be in contact with each other.

Important! Most often, zucchini are stored until the beginning of the spring season, which is associated with the beginning of seed germination, even if all storage rules are observed. Due to this natural factor, not only the appearance of the fruits deteriorates quickly, but also their taste is lost.

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Rules for storing zucchini at home

If you do not have a specially equipped cellar, then given the possibility of storing vegetables at temperature conditions of +10 ° C, you can arrange them in the apartment:

1. Keep zucchini in a dry place inaccessible to sunlight.
2. Great for this purpose, a closet or wooden drawers close to the balcony door.
3. It is very important to observe the darkness at the place of storage of vegetables, as the light will contribute to the germination of seeds.

Important! If you do not have the opportunity to create suitable conditions for storing zucchini, then you can maintain their quality for only a short period. At room temperature, most varieties are unspoiled for a maximum of a month.

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Can zucchini be stored in the refrigerator?

The refrigerator is characterized by high humidity, so it is not very suitable for such a purpose as storing vegetables, because they can begin to rot and become covered with unpleasant mold.

Important! To minimize the effects of moisture on zucchini, fold them in a paper bag with small openings for air circulation. In the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator, zucchini can lie for 2-3 weeks.

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Helpful hints:

• Zucchini is great for freezing, so a freezer is best for long-term storage.
• Rinse and dry vegetables thoroughly before freezing.
• It is best to freeze zucchini sliced ​​in small cubes, because in this form they will be fully prepared for cooking.
• If you want to keep fresh vegetables in the refrigerator, each zucchini should be placed in a perforated paper bag.

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Stock footage

We hope that now you will have no problems storing your harvest from zucchini and in the winter you can enjoy healthy and tasty vegetable dishes without spending a lot of money on them.