Their taste and shelf life depend on the way vegetables are stored. Can I store potatoes in the fridge? It is believed that the refrigerator spoils the taste of potatoes, as well as affecting the breakdown of starch.
To save the root, you need to follow certain rules.
Table of contents
Where can I store potatoes
Potatoes are not recommended to be stored at t below 5 degrees. Tubers acquire a sweetish taste, as the potato begins to sprout and is prone to rotting.
Consider how to properly store potatoes.
In a refrigerator
Keeping potatoes in the fridge is not very convenient.as the vegetable takes up a lot of space.
But if it so happens that potatoes are bought at a few kilograms and stale for a long time, you can put them in the fridge, observing a number of rules:
- most importantly, the potato is not located next to the freezer;
- it is important to keep track of t in the refrigerator, the norm is +3 +6;
- vegetables are stored in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator;
- tubers should be kept in paper bags (in polyethylene, potatoes are rotting);
- keep in the fridge should be as many potatoes as necessary for the next 10 days. Longer storage is not desirable.
In the cellar
The best place to store potatoes - cellar. However, here we must take into account the rules to protect the roots from rotting and the risk of getting sick.
First you need to process the walls of the cellar room with table salt.
To do this, prepare a mixture: salt 200 g, hydrated lime 2 kg, sulphate 1 kg, water 10 l. This solution should be washed 2 times a week to wash the walls of the cellar.
Ventilation must be provided. or the possibility of airing. Potatoes are stored in wooden boxes, which are previously recommended to wipe with a solution of potassium.
It is important to respect the temperature. In the summer t + 5-7С, and in the winter + 2-4 С.
In the hallway or at the entrance
Tubers should be stored in the hallway or at the entrance in cardboard or wooden boxeswith vents for ventilation.
To prevent them from turning green or turning black, cover the boxes with a blanket or other dark cloth.
Room temperature + 15C. That the vegetable is not sprouted, should be arranged in boxes of mint, wormwood and rowan leaves.
On the balcony
In addition to the refrigerator, there is another cold place in winter - this is a balcony. If the balcony is insulated, then it is tantamount to a cellar..
There you can save the temperature in the region of + 5 + 10 degrees during the cold weather.
To start you need to prepare a box filled with insulation: sawdust, warm cloth.From above, boxes of potatoes should be closed with a lid and they should be kept at a temperature comfortable for the vegetable not lower than + 5 ° C, humidity above 85%.
In the apartment
If you are going to keep potatoes in an apartment, you need to choose the coldest place. It is forbidden to put boxes and bags with a root vegetable close to batteries.
Late varieties should be stored in cooler places.: closet, balcony or fridge.
Storage preparation
When harvesting it is very important to respect the terms. This directly affects the keeping quality of potatoes. After harvest it is important that the potatoes lie in the sunThe process has a name - light processing.
To do this, potatoes razlazhuyut in direct sunlight for several days. After sent to storage in the selected location.
Potatoes need to be prepared immediately after harvest. For this A number of recommendations should be followed.:
- clean the tubers from the soil (no need to wash);
- dry tubers under the sun or in a well-ventilated dry room;
- select healthy fruit and discard infected, cracked, rotten;
- put in storage container.
How to keep potatoes in the apartment
Storage in the apartment involves the choice of a place where the potatoes will be most comfortable. There are 3 places:
- In the stairwell or storage room. In the stairwell or in the closet it is cool and vegetables are always at hand, but there is a drawback: depending on the season, a different t mode is maintained.
- On the balcony. Tubers on the balcony feel comfortable with respect to t mode. The main thing is to put wooden boxes so that between them there are no cracks, they need warming.
- In a refrigerator. t is not lower than 3C. Store potatoes for no more than 2 weeks.
Saving in the apartment involves placing the vegetable in the coolest and darkest place. However, a long root vegetable at room temperature will not be able to lie.
If there are no other places, then you can consider the option of storing potatoes in the refrigerator. There is a condition - to store no more than 10-14 days, observing t regimen.
Which varieties are stored best
It is best to put off late or mid-season varieties for the winter. Good keeping quality endowed varieties: Asterix, Atlas, Volat, Blue, Dolphin, Lad, Zhuravinka, Nevsky, Scarlett, Saturn.
Diseases and causes of their appearance
If stored improperly, potatoes can cause disease:
- phytophthora. On the tubers appear hard spots at which the pulp is affected. Appears in the event that one of the fruit has already been infected;
- dry rot. On the peel appears white mold plaque. It occurs if the tubers were moistened, transferred with adhering soil. It is recommended to wash the potatoes before storage;
- black scab. A fungus that affects the pulp of a tuber. It is transmitted through the soil, with the wrong t mode it spreads quickly to another potato;
- freezing potatoes. Occurs when the vegetable is stored at t below 2C.
When harvesting you need to be careful and carefully sort through the roots.
The right temperature, capacity
Comfortable t mode +2 +3 degrees, and humidity 70-80%. Optimum temperature conditions: t + 5 + 10C.
Store vegetables better in wooden boxes, which are called "bins". To prepare the boxes, you need to calculate the amount of the crop.
The bottom of the boxes should be raised above the floor by 15 cm, the height of the boards 1-1.5 meters. Intervals between boards in 1-2 cm for ventilation. Top boxes covered with a lid.
Storage features at different times of the year
There are 4 periods of keeping potatoes:
- Therapeutic. Immediately after harvesting, it is necessary to create conditions for the ripening of tubers and the treatment of mechanical damage. During this period, you need to leave the crop at t12-18C for airing for 8-10 days.
- Cooling. Ventilate the tubers with night air up to t 1С. Ventilation takes place within 2-3 weeks.
- The main - the rest period. Fold in a room where the temperature is maintained 2-4C. Once or twice a week the room must be thoroughly aired for half an hour.
- Spring - after the start of germination of potatoes. In February, when there is a risk of potato sprouting, you need to arrange stress-hardening for it, reduce t to 1-3C. So you can save the tubers until May.
If you follow the rules, you can significantly extend the keeping quality of the root.