How to store eggplant at home

Delicious dishes are made from eggplant, which is why many housewives are one of their favorite vegetables. One thing only causes problems - they deteriorate too quickly, and they are not fresh stored for long. But many ways have already been invented, how to keep the little blue ones longer, so that over time they can be used for various dishes.

Special storage conditions for fresh eggplant

Buying fresh eggplant, you can expect that only for up to two months they will be suitable for food. And only if you observe the correct temperature regime, prevent excessive humidity, in time to select those that began to deteriorate and rot. Therefore, experienced housewives immediately try to cook various dishes from them or preserve them.

If the family still prefers fresh vegetables, there are ways to keep them fresh for a longer period. Adhering to simple rules, you can achieve good results:

1. An important condition is to maintain the correct temperature, then the blue ones will not deteriorate for a long time. This place should be cool, from about +2 to +6 degrees. Ideally for such conditions, a refrigerator or cellar is suitable, in which even on hot days coolness is maintained. It is advisable that the cellar has access to fresh air.
2. You need to protect the blue ones from the hot rays of the sun, otherwise they will deteriorate in a few days. But there is a danger to human health. The fact is that under the influence of ultraviolet in these vegetables there is an increased process of solanine production, and in such quantities it negatively affects a person, and the vegetables themselves become not so tasty.
3. Humidity during storage should be certain, that is, do not exceed a 75 percent threshold, do not fall below a 70 percent mark.
4. These vegetables are too easily affected by various types of rot, infecting each other, so the place where they will lie must be decontaminated.
5. Before sending the fruits for long storage, each should be carefully examined so that the skin is not damaged, and putrefactive spots are not present, the sepal should also be free of defects. Professional housewives advise you to buy eggplants slightly immature, you can identify them by their skin - it is dense and shiny, has a bright purple color.
6. Before vegetables are sent for storage, each should be wiped with a natural cotton cloth. Experienced housewives do not advise them to wash; moisture in this case can only bring harm.
7. If the little blue ones grow on their own beds, they need to be collected correctly, then they will remain fresh much longer. When harvesting, you need to stock up with a sharp knife, cutting them so that a tail of about 2 cm remains.
8. In your own garden you can dig out the whole bush, so that a lump of earth remains intact, and put in a capacious container prepared in advance. It should be stored in the cellar. In this case, such a bush should be taken care of when watering so that the soil remains soft and moist.
9. Vegetable growers claim that the best place to store is a deep box lined with straw or sawdust. But vegetables will be well preserved in paper, the main thing is that they do not touch each other.
10. You need to check the condition of the eggplant every 2 weeks, and if any is in doubt, it is better to cook it immediately, but it happens that you have to throw it away and rotting it. The main thing is that others do not die from the spoiled vegetable.

It is easiest to keep eggplants in the cellar; they cannot stand storage for too long in an apartment: wrapped in paper or newspaper, even in a dark and perfectly cool place, lie no more than 4 weeks.

They are stored in the refrigerator longer, especially if it is a modern unit and the “No frost” system is provided in it. Preservation will be ensured if dry and slightly ripened fruits are packed in a plastic bag, each wrapped separately in paper, placed in a container for fruits and vegetables. Again, do not forget that the little blue ones that started to deteriorate should be cleaned on time.

How to make blanks

Canning is the best way to preserve the taste of eggplants and enjoy them in the winter. In addition, this method does not allow the development of putrefactive microorganisms.

Freezing and drying are among the most common types of storage of many vegetables. Eggplant is no exception, and with this type of storage, the terms are much longer, until the next harvest. And frozen or dried eggplants, when various dishes are subsequently prepared from them, do not lose their taste.

Drying is easier to produce in a special electric dryer. But an ordinary stove with an oven is also a great helper. Before you put the vegetables in the unit, you will have to work a little: take away the fruits, they should only be ripe and healthy. The peel is cleaned from each, then it is more convenient to cut them into thin circles - now they are completely ready for drying. The temperature of the oven should not be very high at the beginning of the process, do not rise above 85 degrees, and at the end - above 50. It will be necessary to mix the vegetables, and if there are already ready, take them away.

After this process, they must be properly saved. The best way - in those banks in which there are screw caps.

When you need another portion for cooking, the dried circles are poured with hot water, they are swelling, ready for use. These vegetables will be especially delicious when roasted, seasoned with spices.

Frozen Eggplant

Invented and tested in practice, methods of freezing blue ones. Many housewives claim that it is better to heat them before placing these vegetables in the freezer, otherwise they will not be so tasty, they become "rubber".

For this type of storage, it is better to cut the eggplants into rings or in the form of cubes - who prefer that they are large, others - small. They are also given the shape of cubes or thin strips. Now chopped vegetables should be fried or baked in the oven.

You can also leave whole fruits to freeze, but it is advisable to bake them first. For this, whole fruits should first be laid on a baking sheet, preferably on parchment paper, and then each must be chopped with a fork and left for 40 - 50 minutes. The temperature regime is maintained - 180-200 degrees. Then, from each fetus, the skin and peduncle are necessarily removed. The last stage: all vegetables are packaged and sent for freezing.

If you want to keep the little blue pieces in the freezer, you must place the pre-cut vegetables in a deep pot and pour boiling water. Then they should stand a little under the closed lid and cool. After that, the liquid is drained.

Before you chop vegetables, you need to decide which dishes are preferred from eggplant. For example, if it is a form:

1. Thin plates - it is more convenient to make rolls with a wide variety of fillings.
2. Pieces or cubes - they are ideal for vegetable stews.
3. Mugs - used more often for baking.

If there are blue ones in the batch for freezing that have a bitter taste, they need to be separately processed. To do this, they are sprinkled with salt, mixed and set aside for 30 minutes.During this time, the vegetables will secrete a liquid that must be washed off, rinse the fruits under a plentiful stream of water, and certainly completely dry.

If you suddenly need to defrost vegetables in advance, they are moved from the freezer to the refrigerator with other products, and only after a short time they are placed in room conditions until they unfreeze completely. From such blue ones you can cook the same dishes as fresh ones. And if they have already passed the heat treatment in advance - were fried or baked - it will take much less time to cook them, the taste will be preserved and the aromatic smell too.

These vegetables are stored frozen for no more than a year.

Delicious eggplant and canned. This is, first of all, caviar, assorted salads and many other pickles with spices, vinegar, vegetable oil or herbs.

Video: freezing eggplant for the winter