Eggplant is a vegetable that is healthy and necessary for the human body. Rich in trace elements and vitamins. Eggplant dishes are an extremely tasty product.
The desire to eat eggplant fresh throughout the long winter is natural and justified. However, this wonderful vegetable is stored worse than other vegetables. It can not be attributed to vegetables with a long shelf life. Many people wonder how to store eggplant at home. Subject to certain and important requirements, they can be stored for a long time.
Eggplant storage
Great care must be taken to select fruits so that they remain fresh for as long as possible.
You should choose the youngest eggplant, with a smooth and elastic skin. Fruits should have a deep purple color, be shiny in appearance, without damage and mold.
Size preference should be given to the heaviest fruits. In no case should you lay for long-term storage the overripe eggplants, as they spoil faster. To check, just press a little finger on the fruit to check ripeness. If the hole remains, you must immediately eat or process the vegetable.
Storage preparation
Preparing to store eggplant is a painstaking and troublesome process. The most suitable for long-term storage are late ripe eggplant varieties. Their crop is removed before frost in dry weather.
This will protect the fruits from fungal infection. Fruits must be cut with a sharp knife, leaving about three centimeters at the stalk.
With this cut of the stalk, the fruit will not dry for a long time, and will not be susceptible to infection. Eggplant is not washed before storage, but wiped with a dry cloth or paper towel. Fruits must be dried after harvest, but not in the sun, as their action leads to the formation of solanine, which is hazardous to health.
The temperature for storage should be from plus 3 to minus 5 degrees. Maximum temperature - plus 10 degrees. In this case, it is necessary to monitor the humidity, which should not exceed 75 to 85 percent. It is very important to adhere to these conditions to ensure longer storage.
Different ways to store eggplant at home
How to save eggplant at home, for this there are some storage methods.
Dark place
The dark place to store fruit is the cellar, basement and pantry.
Eggplant must be put in a cardboard box. At the same time, when laying, they must be separated from each other by paper partitions, you can also hay or straw, if you have it. It is advisable to lay out from one to three layers, since insufficient air circulation can lead to the fact that the fruits will begin to deteriorate, or mold will appear on them. After two weeks, the eggplant must be sorted and the litter changed. To do this, remove the spoiled fruits, if any. Then re-shift, also separating them with partitions, and leave for long storage.
There is another unique way of storage - it is to cover the fruits with wood ash. Before falling asleep, it is necessary to put the eggplant in a deep box, preferably a wooden one, and store at a temperature of plus 7 degrees.
The method of hanging eggplant - This is the most original storage option. To do this, use the usual grid, in which the fruits are laid, then the grid is stretched and fixed. After that, the eggplant must be placed in one layer. The temperature with this option should be maintained up to plus 3 degrees. It is also necessary that the room has air access.
Dried Eggplant
There are two ways to dry eggplant: artificial and natural. In order to dry the fruits in a natural way, you must wash them in advance. Then you can either whole or cut into pieces and dry in the open. Eggplants can be placed at a distance from each other, onto oilcloth or a baking sheet. The main thing is to ensure that sunlight does not fall. Also another option, to string pieces of fruit on a fishing line or thread, and hang in a well-ventilated place, you can even leave it on the street.
Artificial storage - This is the fastest way. It consists in drying the eggplant in the oven. The fruits chopped into medium pieces are laid out on a baking sheet, and at a temperature of plus 50 degrees, they are dried for 6 hours. Then, the eggplant is taken out of the oven and allowed to cool for about one hour. It is necessary to check the condition of drying. if you still have to dry, the fruits are sent back to the oven, but the cooking time is reduced to two hours. Dried fruits can be stored in a container or dry bag.
Freezing in the fridge
Eggplant freezing is the fastest and easiest way to store. When frozen, the fruits do not lose their qualities, both healthy and taste. At the same time, you can cut eggplant in any size. In the refrigerator, the eggplants are in plastic bags.
A few tips before freezing:
• To avoid eggplant, sprinkle it with salt for 20 minutes, and then rinse with water;
• To maintain a rich taste, it is necessary to pour sliced fruits alternately first with boiling water and then with cold water.
With proper storage, you will get the most delicious and completely fresh eggplant.
