How to store celery at home in winter, the best methods and conditions

The petioles and rhizome of unpretentious celery are rich in fiber and flavonoids, contain ascorbic and nicotinic acid, monosaccharides and trace elements. The stem of the plant removes excess liquid, reduces sugar levels. It depends on how the celery is stored whether the vegetable will lose its spicy smell, will not lose its unique composition. The product is valued not only for the presence of healing properties, but also for its rich aroma, without which dishes and snacks seem tasteless.

Celery Storage Features

The leaves of a herbaceous plant in dachas and vegetable gardens are cut at the end of summer. Greens do not wither for some time, but for the winter they are dried or frozen in order to subsequently season soups. Before harvesting the roots, which are dug up at the end of September, you need to check whether there are any voids, for this it is enough to press on top or knock on the tuber.

If a ringtone rings, it is better not to take a copy. The skin of the celery rhizome should be smooth and not rough.The tubers are frozen, cut into pieces or whole, pickled, salted.

How to keep leaves and petioles fresh

Celery rhizomes can stand for a long time without spoiling if stored in a cellar, where the humidity is moderate, the temperature does not exceed +2.

In the fridge

The leaves of the plant wither quickly, in order to keep it fresh, cut from the garden, the leaves are washed, dried and wrapped in foil, put in the refrigerator, where they will lie for a little over a week. In cellophane or plastic container, celery loses its smell and fades in 2 or 3 days.

In the bank

The stems of a herbaceous plant with leaves are placed in a glass bowl filled with water. The liquid should be changed daily, and the ends of the petioles should also be cut often. If these conditions are met, the greens will not lose their elasticity, they will not fade for at least 2 weeks.

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Save until spring

To always have fresh celery at hand, in late August - mid-September, they dig up the bushes of the plant, leaving a little soil. The vegetable is brought to the cellar, planted in the sand. Leaves and stems will not wither, tubers will not rot, will not dry out until spring.

Root storage methods

Petiole celery can be left in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator for several months. After digging up the plant, cutting the greens, washing the tubers under the tap, drying, putting this seasoning in soups, meat dishes, the root crop will not last until spring.

In a box of sand

Gardeners who put potatoes and beets in the cellar know that celery can also be stored there.The tubers do not rot, dry out, lose useful components, if, having taken them from the garden, immediately put them vertically in the sand, without falling asleep on the petioles. The container with the roots is taken to a cool cellar, where the temperature is kept at the same level.

In a plastic bag

You can store celery tubers in another way, putting them in large bags, covering with a 20 mm layer of dry sand. Plastic bags are taken down to the basement. The humidity should not exceed 90%, and the temperature should not exceed 1-2 ° C.

clay mix

Celery leaves are harvested until the plant blooms, it is better to dig up the root for storage before freezing, when it accumulates the maximum amount of useful components. The tubers do not deteriorate for a long time if they are soaked in clay mash and when they dry, put them on the shelves in the basement.To protect root crops from fungal infections, they are piled in a pile, sprinkled with soil, onion husks or chalk.

How to keep for the winter at home

Celery leaves do not lose their flavor when dried; the product can be pickled and salted.

Frozen

Vegetables grown in their own summer cottage or garden do not lose their freshness longer than those bought in the market or store. Root vegetables keep much better than green vegetables, so they are frozen:

1. The leaves are torn from the stems, washed under the tap and laid out on a towel.
2. Celery is chopped like a salad.
3. Chopped greens are placed in a plastic bag or container, making sure that no air gets inside.

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The leaves must be thoroughly dried, otherwise the water will turn into a block of ice, and the part will turn into a sticky mass. It is better to lay out the herbs in a small package in order to use all the spices at once and not to split the frozen mixture into pieces.

It is convenient to store chopped celery by placing it in ice cube trays, pouring water over it and freezing it.

Chopped greens in small containers are best for making mashed soup. You need to tightly close the containers, otherwise the seasoning will lose its rich aroma.

Salting and pickling

If you picked up a lot of celery, you don't need to fill the whole freezer with it. The leaves and stems of the plant retain healing components and a spicy smell when salted. The procurement process asks no questions and is accessible to any woman:

1. Greens are cleaned of dried and yellowed areas.
2. The leaves and stems are thoroughly washed and chopped with a knife.
3. Chopped celery is transferred to a deep bowl, combined with salt and mixed well.
4. Poured into a glass jar, rolled up tightly, taken to the basement, containers with plastic lids are left in the refrigerator.

When preparing seasonings for dishes in this way, you must observe the proportions. A glass of salt is taken per kilogram of plant. It does not lose its useful properties, pickled celery can be stored for a year or even two. To make the room tastier, in addition to a fragrant plant, you will need;

• 2-3 cloves of garlic;
• 2 onions;
• a pod of bitter pepper;
• spices.

Celery stalks are cut into pieces, the leaves, separated from them, are placed on the bottom of a glass container. Pour the garlic, cilantro and wrung out cloves under the press on top.The bulbs are peeled, cut into large rings, the peppers are freed from seeds, crushed into strips and, together with pieces of the stems, put in a container. 2 cups of boiling water are poured into a jar filled with vegetables and kept for 2-3 minutes.

The liquid is decanted into a saucepan, a spoonful of salt, 50 g of sugar are poured in, boiled for 45-60 seconds and vinegar is added. For 400 g of celery, ½ cup of preservative is enough. The cooled marinade is poured into a container with steamed vegetables, covered and stored in the refrigerator. After three days, the ingredients are soaked and the dressing can be eaten.

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Retains the rich taste and aromatic smell of celery when marinated with oil:

1. The stems of the plant are freed from leaves, washed and crushed.
2. Two cloves of garlic are placed in a press and pressed.
3. Half a liter of water is poured into a saucepan, salted, clove buds, peppercorns are added, put on the fire and the marinade is boiled.
4. Shredded stalks are spread in a hot liquid, boiled for about 5 minutes.

Cooled celery is taken out of the pan, put in a glass container, in which you can add a few olives, pour a glass of vinegar, season with sunflower oil heated to 50°C. Celery dishes are covered, in a cool place, 500 g of the plant is marinated for no more than 2 days.

Drying

If the vegetable air-dries under a canopy, the vitamins and microelements are preserved, the aroma does not disappear. The leaves and stems are crushed or placed whole on a paper-lined tray.Dried celery is poured into a jar or container, the container is tightly sealed, stored in the kitchen or in the pantry, where the sun's rays do not fall.

Properly dried petioles and leaves will not be covered with mold, they will retain their green color for up to 2 years. Root vegetables are best dried in the oven at a temperature not exceeding 50 ° C.

Additional tips and tricks

Petiole celery can be cut into pieces, put in a glass container and sprinkled with salt in a ratio of 5 to 1. The most delicious vegetable preparations are obtained if harvested in the second half of September, when the leaves begin to turn yellow. Celery loves heat, freezes under a little frost, then it is poorly preserved.In regions where there are no harsh winters, the tubers of plants are simply folded into trenches, sprinkled with a mixture of sand and peat.

The taste of the roots improves, the petioles become more tender, when a month before harvesting the plant is wrapped in a transparent film. Tubers damaged during digging are peeled, cut into cubes and dried in a ventilated room, spread on paper, for two weeks. Dried roots are placed in tightly closed containers.