How and where is it better to store eggplants at home

Eggplants are most often canned at home, as they combine well with vegetable oils. But this vegetable can be kept cool in a cellar or in the freezer. They can also be dried or cured. In order for eggplants to be edible in winter, it is recommended to harvest them from the garden bed.

Eggplant storage features

This vegetable is picky about storage conditions, so you should carefully familiarize yourself with them:

1. Direct sunlight will accelerate the deterioration of eggplant and trigger chemical processes that can harm the body.
2. Late varieties are stored longer than others. You should also select fruits with green stems and no damage or rot.
3. When storing in boxes, it is recommended to sprinkle the vegetables with sand to retain moisture. They should also be kept in a plastic or paper bag.

How to harvest correctly

When harvesting crops in your garden, it is recommended to observe certain conditions:

1. When cutting an eggplant, it is necessary to leave more than 3 centimeters of stem.
2. Harvesting should be carried out on warm, but not hot and dry days.

Preparation for long term storage

Before storage, the surface of the fruit should be wiped with a cloth. They cannot be washed, as this contributes to the deterioration of preservation. The storage method should be determined, as well as a special place and container for vegetables should be prepared.

Storage methods

In order to keep fresh eggplants, you can use a cellar or a freezer. They can also be kept dried or canned.

Basement or cellar

When stored in a cellar or basement, the humidity should be between 75% and 85%. It is necessary that the ambient temperature is 3-5°C. Before long-term storage, vegetables should be sorted for damage and rot. After that, they need to be wrapped in paper and folded in boxes with ventilation holes. It is recommended to sprinkle vegetables with sawdust, straw, sand or paper. In order for the fruits to be stored longer, the absence of sudden changes in temperature or humidity is required.

Freezer

Fresh frozen, eggplants lose their flavor (not even the bitter varieties). When storing them as semi-finished products, less vitamins and nutrients are retained, but more taste. The temperature in the freezer should be below -11°C.

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Fried slices

When freezing semi-finished products, they must be fried or baked. Before cooking fried eggplants, you need to rinse them and cut them into circles or slices. After that, they should be thrown into boiling salted water for 5 minutes.Cooked vegetables should be fried in oil, cooled, wrapped and put in the freezer.

Costs

To keep vegetables fresh, you can freeze them in the freezer. For this you need:

1. Wash fruit.
2. Cut them into plates, slices or cubes.
3. Cover the vegetables with salt and leave to infuse for 35-40 minutes. After that, drain all the juice from the dishes.
4. Blanch the slices for 5 minutes and dry.
5. Place eggplants in the freezer separately from other foods. To prevent them from sticking together, they must be laid out on a board or plate before freezing them. After 4 hours in the freezer, they can be taken out and wrapped.

Fridge

These vegetables can be stored in the apartment using the refrigerator. At a temperature of + 3-5°C and an air humidity of 75-85%, they can be stored for 2-3 weeks. Before placing fruits in containers, they should be wrapped in paper or plastic wrap. It is not recommended to store eggplant with other fruits or vegetables.

Alternative harvesting methods for the winter

To keep the taste of eggplants longer, it is recommended to preserve or dry these vegetables.

Drying

You can prepare pulses at home using the oven, electric dryer or outdoors. To dry eggplants, they must be washed, dried and cut into slices or circles. Store this product in a container, paper bag or cloth bag.

Drying in the open air

After cutting, the vegetables can be laid out on a baking sheet or hung on a string or fishing line. After that, it is recommended to leave them in a dry and ventilated place without direct sunlight. This method is weather dependent and requires the same humidity and temperature throughout the drying period.

Dry in the oven or electric dryer

If the weather is not favorable and there is an oven or an electric dryer, eggplants can be cooked there. To do this, cut fruit should be stored in the oven at a temperature of 45-55°C for 4-6 hours. After cooling, it is recommended to inspect them. If the fruits are not completely dry, they must be dried. When cooking in an electric dryer, you need to set the appropriate mode and dry for 6-8 hours.

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Drying

Dried vegetables can be prepared in the oven or in an electric dryer. After baking, they should have a hard crust and a soft middle. To do this, they must be dried in an oven at a temperature of 60 ° C for 2-4 hours or in a dryer in the appropriate mode until soft. After that, they need to be placed in a container and filled with hot oil with spices. The cooled product should be stored in the refrigerator.

Canning

Canning is the most common way to preserve eggplants at home.They can be salted, fermented, pickled or made into eggplant caviar. In addition, these vegetables can be preserved in tomato juice or oil.

Dirty

To prepare salted eggplant, you need to put the chopped fruit in a saucepan or other container, add chopped dill and garlic to it, cover with salt (2-3% of the weight of vegetables in salt equivalent) and to mix together. After that, leave under pressure for 2-4 days at a temperature of 18-24 ° C until the brine becomes cloudy.

Marine

The composition of the seam with pickled eggplant includes:

• fresh fruit - 2.5-3 kilograms;
• 3-4 cloves of garlic;
• salt - 4 tablespoons for cooking, 10-15 grams for garlic and 30-40 grams for making brine;
• 1-2 bay leaves;
• 0.5 liters of salt water.

To cook vegetables, you will need:

1. Cut the tails of the fruits and prick them with a toothpick all over the surface.
2. Boil them for 10-20 minutes in salted water (2 tablespoons per 1 liter) until wrinkles appear on the skin.
3. Squeeze the vegetables at an angle for 7-12 hours.
4. Rub the peeled garlic with salt.
5. Cut along the fruit into 2 equal parts and brush the entire surface with the garlic mixture.
6. Put bay leaves (peppers and/or cloves to taste) and eggplant at the bottom of the container.
7. Prepare the brine in a ratio of 60 grams of salt per 1 liter of water. Let it cool then pour it into a container with the vegetables.
8. Cover the container with the ingredients and leave to ferment for 5-7 days at a temperature of 19-24°C.
9. At the end of fermentation, remove the container to a cool place for further storage.

Taste vegetables

These vegetables can be cooked with a variety of vegetables such as carrots, tomatoes or peppers. The pepper recipe includes:

• eggplant - 1.5 kilograms;
• bell pepper - 500 grams and hot pepper - 50 grams;
• garlic - 70-80 grams;
• vegetable oil - 90-120 grams;
• vinegar - 10-12 tablespoons;
• honey - 110-120 grams (can be replaced with sugar);
• salt - 2 tbsp.

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To cook these vegetables with hot peppers and peppers, you will need:

1. Wash, dry and cut the fruit into slices up to 1 centimeter thick.
2. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and the chopped eggplant on top. Leaves and vegetables should be carefully greased with vegetable oil.
3. Prepare a vinaigrette from peppers and garlic peeled from the seeds and tails.To do this, they need to be cut into pieces and grind with a blender or meat grinder.
4. Add vinegar, honey (or sugar), salt to the resulting mass and mix well.
5. Put vegetables and dressing in jars, alternating layers (for 1 layer of eggplant, you need 2 tablespoons of the mixture on top and bottom).
6. Place the pots in water and boil for 15 minutes.
7. Roll up the container with the lids, turn over and let cool.

Common Mistakes

When preparing eggplants for the winter, mistakes can be made that lead to deterioration of the product or its taste. If you don't sterilize the jar before rolling it, even when the contents are boiled, it may go moldy or start to deteriorate. With sudden changes in temperature or air humidity, the shelf life of fresh harvested vegetables is significantly reduced. Direct sunlight on the fruit accelerates the spoilage process. In addition, because of them, they can release substances that are harmful to the body.

It is not recommended to store eggplant in the freezer with other foods, as vegetables quickly absorb odors.

Additional tips and tricks

General tips for storing and eating eggplant:

1. It is recommended that this product be stored in canned form. This contributes to the fact that its taste is lost less and it will be edible for a long time.
2. When harvesting dried fruits, you need to find a dry place without drops of moisture, because if excessive moisture gets into the vegetables, they can begin to rot.
3. When storing in a refrigerator or freezer, set the correct temperature (3-5°C and 12°C, respectively) and maintain it throughout the storage period.
4. It is recommended to obtain from the freezer the amount of workpiece that will be used for cooking. Vegetables cannot be refrozen.