How to keep beets fresh from autumn to spring in an apartment

Growing vegetables in your own beds is not only an interesting and exciting activity, but also providing your family with healthy root vegetables from harvest to harvest. Of course, you can buy everything in the store, but it’s better to know how to store beets yourself and use your harvest, which is both tastier and healthier.

How does storage affect taste and quality?

Beets do not lose their beneficial properties for a long time if certain conditions are maintained. Most varieties can be stored all winter, and they will be juicy and healthy until the next harvest.

The main reason for the loss of root quality and its taste properties is the re-growth of tops and wilting. But if you create the right temperature, humidity and conditions under which the vegetable is deprived of the opportunity to start growing tops again, then it can be stored for up to nine months.

What varieties of beets are suitable for storage?

The keeping quality of the root crop directly depends on the timing of ripening.Early ripening varieties are excellent for summer consumption and preparation, but in order to preserve beets in their original form throughout the winter, you need to choose a vegetable that grows in the garden for at least 110 days. It is worth giving up sugar beets, which have a pleasant taste, but are unable to last for more than 2 months. Mid-season and late varieties of root crops have a ripening period of 110-140 days, so they need to be sown earlier and harvested later.

It is worth paying attention to the names:

• Detroit;
• cylinder;
• mulatto;
• Egyptian;
• Bordeaux.

These varieties have proven to be the most suitable for home storage. But in order for the root crop to last for a long time, it must be properly collected and prepared.

Beet storage conditions

Optimal temperature and humidity indicators for planting root crops for a long time are established in village cellars and basements, but not everyone can boast of their presence. It is possible to store not only beets, but also other vegetables in a city apartment, but you need to create the right conditions. If a large harvest is grown annually, many residents equip a storage room, a warm balcony or a corridor for storage.

Optimal conditions for storing beets:

1. Temperature +2-4 degrees - this does not allow the root crop to re-grow tops.
2. Air humidity is 80-90% - this preserves juiciness and eliminates flabbiness.
3. A room where sunlight does not penetrate - this preserves all the beneficial properties.
4. Ventilation, but without drafts - this eliminates premature rotting.
5. Contact with the floor is excluded - this allows the fetus to lie in natural conditions.

If all the indicators are met, then you can be sure that the beets will last until the next harvest.But root rot can appear at any time, so you need to regularly check your supplies. If fruits that are unfit for food are identified, they must be immediately removed from the general storage, otherwise the bacteria will quickly spread and destroy the entire crop.

Proper preparation of beets for storage

Many gardeners know that the main thing is not to grow, but to collect and preserve it correctly. Its shelf life depends on which root crop will be stored in storage for the winter.

How to properly prepare vegetables for storage:

1. Cleaning. Collection should begin when the leaves begin to turn yellow and wither. It is advisable to choose a dry, sunny day before frost sets in; if the beets freeze even a little, then they cannot be stored. The root crop must be carefully pulled out of the garden bed so as not to damage the peel or tear off the leaf.
2. Drying. It is optimal if the vegetable lies in the garden bed for 1-2 hours in the sun after harvesting. If harvesting is carried out in cloudy weather, then the beets are brought into a ventilated room and left for 2-3 days. When the root crop dries, the tops are cut off, leaving tails 1-2 cm long.
3. Sorting. From the entire harvest, it is worth choosing beets of the same size. It is better to refuse to store small specimens - they will simply dry out, and large ones, which may have internal cavities, which often leads to rotting. The average size of beets for storage is 10-15 cm in diameter.

On a note. It is strictly not recommended to wash vegetables that are to be stored for the winter. If the harvest was carried out in cloudy weather, then the root crop is slightly cleared of clods of earth. The presence of a crust of soil on the surface is even welcome, as it protects the vegetable from external influences, and it is better stored.

Where can you store beets in an apartment?

The ideal place for preserving all root crops and preparations is the cellar, where the optimal temperature and humidity are established during the cold season.

Urban living space, of course, is not well suited for storing vegetables for the winter, but you can find a suitable place there too.

In the kitchen

The happy owners of the “Khrushchev” refrigerator in the house, of course, store all their winter supplies in it, where they equip special drawers and shelves. The volume of such a place is small, but for a family of 2-3 people it will be enough to store a supply of beets for the winter.

If there is no such refrigerator in the apartment, then you need to consider other options. The kitchen is the warmest room in the house, and in such conditions the root crop will not sit for more than a month; it will dry out or rot.

In a refrigerator

An excellent option is a special compartment for vegetables. The unit maintains the desired temperature and humidity, but it is hardly possible to make a large supply of beets for the winter, because they can completely occupy the compartment.

But if there are no other options, then each root vegetable is packaged in parchment paper and placed in the vegetable compartment in the refrigerator. It is possible to store in plastic bags, but it is not advisable; beets need constant air circulation, and the bags must be kept open. In the refrigerator, shelf life is limited to 2-3 months.

On the balcony

If this additional area is glazed, and the temperature there does not drop to sub-zero levels, then this is the best place in the apartment for storing vegetables. On the balcony there are boxes in which dry root vegetables are placed. In severe frosts, you can cover the storage area with old blankets and blankets.

On insulated balconies, where the air temperature is stable in winter, you can store beets in plastic boxes. The vegetables are placed in rows, which are lined with parchment paper. The boxes are installed away from sunlight or covered with breathable fabric from the sun.

In sand

If we are talking about a balcony, then the bulk substance will preserve the root crop until spring. Sand has the ability to accumulate moisture from the air and hold it in sufficient quantity to store beets. For laying, you need to take clean river sand, root crops prepared for laying, and a tight box without cracks or holes.

Add a layer of sand to the bottom and place the beets in one row, which is completely covered with sand. According to this scheme, the entire container is filled, and the layer of filling on top should be 4-5 cm. In winter, it will be enough to take the required amount of vegetable for cooking.

In the sawdust

An alternative option if there is no sand. The technology for planting beets is identical. The only thing that needs to be taken into account is that the sawdust must be clean and dry, otherwise the root crop will quickly begin to deteriorate. Dry peat, ash or salt are also suitable for this storage method.

Storage on potatoes

These two root vegetables complement each other perfectly; each releases gas during storage, which improves the conditions for the other. You can store them alternately, putting potatoes and beets in boxes, but more often the “red” ones are placed on top of the potatoes.

In clay

A more labor-intensive method of preserving vegetables, but more effective, which allows you to preserve the root crop until the next harvest, provided that the air temperature does not exceed +4 degrees.

To prepare, you need to dissolve dry clay in water to the consistency of liquid sour cream.Dip each beet and place it on parchment paper until completely dry, then place everything in a wooden box. This way, each root crop will be isolated from each other, which increases the percentage of preservation and prevents drying out.

In foil

A simpler option than clay. Food foil is available in every home; to it you need to add a little expanded clay and a box in which the beets will be stored.

To lay it, you need to pour a 5 cm layer of expanded clay onto the bottom of the container and place each root vegetable, tightly wrapped in food foil, in rows. Another 5 cm layer of expanded clay is poured on top. If the vegetables were collected on time and prepared correctly, then you can save the root crop until the next harvest.

Beet shelf life

Determines the method of planting root crops for the winter. If the task is to preserve beets until the next harvest, then clay and foil are the best options. On a balcony in sand the period will be no more than 6 months, in sawdust 4-5 months. In the refrigerator, the vegetable will begin to wilt and lose its juiciness after 2 months. If the beets are simply stored on the floor in a cool place with a temperature no higher than +12 degrees, then the freshness will last no more than 30 days.

Alternative storage methods

There are two options that will help preserve the root crop throughout the winter. In this case, the integrity of the beets is lost and you can only get a semi-finished product for salads, dressings and soups. You can also use these options if the root crop for some reason begins to deteriorate when stored for the winter.

What can you do to preserve beets:

1. Freezing. You need to thoroughly wash and dry the vegetable. Peel and cut into cubes or strips, you can also grate. Place in portions in plastic bags and place in the freezer.Freezing will allow you to cook soups or prepare salads throughout the year.
2. Drying. For safety, you can use an oven or a special device that simplifies the process. Regardless of which type of drying is chosen, you need to wash, dry and cut the vegetable. Next, spread in a thin layer on a parchment-lined sheet and place in the oven for 5-7 hours at 90 degrees. Or scatter it on a drying mesh and in 2-3 hours the root vegetable will be ready. It is better to store dried vegetables in glass jars.

These two methods can provide a family with beets for the year ahead, but will require time. But the loss during processing of valuable substances is minimal.

Questions and answers

Some questions about product preservation can baffle even an experienced housewife, but you can find an answer to everything, which is very simple and accessible.

Storing boiled beets

Cooking vegetables for salad is often excessive, and in order not to throw away the excess, there is an option to preserve it. You need to cut the beets into cubes or grate them, pack them in a container or plastic bag and put them in the freezer. After thawing, the product will not lose its properties and taste.

How to save tops?

The green part of the plant has no less vitamin composition than the root vegetable. Therefore, tops are often used by housewives in preparing first and second courses. The most rational method is drying, which does not take much time and space. Beet tops are also frozen, canned, salted and pickled.

The best “neighbors” for beets during storage

The optimal choice for a neighborhood in one box would be potatoes. The gases released by potatoes prevent the beets from drying out, and vice versa, the potatoes will not rot.And also to increase the shelf life, you can layer the root vegetables with the leaves of fern, tansy, horseradish or rowan.

A sufficient number of ways to preserve beets will allow you not to lose the harvest and feed your family with healthy root vegetables throughout the winter. The main thing is to choose the most suitable option for yourself and create optimal conditions for the root crop.