Historians still cannot precisely determine when the cabbage appeared on our tables.
Since ancient times, housewives have been able to harvest this useful vegetable for use all year round.
Some secrets have survived to our times.
Keeping a cabbage crop at home is easy. It can be fermented, pickled or left fresh. Each type of workpiece has its own storage method.
When to store cabbage in storage
Mistresses begin to think about the preservation of the cabbage crop at the stage of seed selection.
Early varieties are only suitable for the preparation of soups and salads in the summer. Small loose heads of cabbage cannot be kept fresh. Yes, and sauerkraut at the end of summer is not recommended.
Medium-late and late varieties are suitable for pickling and storing fresh. Dense heads of cabbage ripen by October. This time is considered the most suitable for harvesting cabbage for the winter. To keep the cabbage fresh, it must be cut down in dry weather. Do not wait for the first frost, as it is recommended for varieties intended for pickling.
Depending on the climatic zone, cabbage is harvested from mid-October to mid-November.
How to keep cabbage fresh
The store should be in a cool, dark place. Ideal temperature for storing vegetables from 0 to -2 degrees.
To keep the cabbage fresh until mid-spring, you need to choose dense small heads of cabbage. After removing the extra leaves, leave a couple of green ones, which are already removed when used in food.
• Wrap heads without root in several layers of cling film. Fold on storage shelves. Cabbage is stored in this form for about 4 months. Cauliflower can be saved in the same way.
• Wrap heads with newspapers and tie with twine. This method allows you to keep the cabbage fresh for about a month. In too warm a room, the top leaves can dry quickly. Therefore, it is required to leave several green covering leaves in order to extend the safety of the head of cabbage.
• Head out the beds along with the root. Shake off the ground and remove excess leaves. Make a mash of water and clay. Dip the cabbages into the mixture and dry in the shade. Put in storage. You can save such cabbage until spring. The disadvantage of this storage method is the cleaning of heads of cabbage before cooking.
• To cook cabbage rolls in winter, some housewives adapted to freeze whole heads of cabbage. After harvesting, wrap the cabbage in paper or film and put it in boxes. With the onset of cold weather, take to a cold room. Cabbage prepared in this way does not need to be boiled for the preparation of cabbage rolls. Defrosting cabbages, peeling and disassembling on leaflets. A slight minus is the appearance of a peculiar smell in defrosted cabbage.
How to save sauerkraut
Preparation of sauerkraut is to create a comfortable working environment for lactic acid bacteria, which are responsible for the fermentation process of the product. For several days, sauerkraut is kept at room temperature, stirring it several times to remove the gases formed during fermentation.
The finished product is laid out in containers so that the brine completely covers the cabbage. In this form, this useful product can be stored for more than a year at a temperature of no higher than zero.
Cabbage will not deteriorate if it is not possible to observe the temperature regime. But the fermentation process will continue, and the product will get too sour taste. To prepare dishes from such cabbage, you need to rinse it several times with water.
A method for storing frozen sauerkraut has long been known. The housewives cooked it in large oak barrels and carried it out in the cold. The product retained its palatability and beneficial properties throughout the winter.
Now it’s hard to find the right packaging. But you can use plastic containers. Arrange the finished product in small portions and put it in the freezer. Do not defrost sauerkraut several times. Therefore, it is advisable to use such volumes that are enough to prepare one dish. This method is good for making soups. Frozen cabbage is placed immediately in boiling water. Freezing does not spoil the taste and color of sauerkraut.
What is important to know when storing cabbage
• The quality of cabbage heads is largely dependent on the weather conditions in which the vegetable was grown. A rainy summer allows you to accumulate too much moisture. Such cabbage is stored worse.
• To maintain the harvest as long as possible, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the heads of cabbage laid in storage. If rot has appeared, then it is better to remove such a head of cabbage and not use it for cooking. Putrid bacteria can infect an entire crop.
• To increase the likelihood of preserving the cabbage crop, it is better to use different methods. No one can guarantee that the method used successfully last year will help preserve the crop in this.
• Do not use food spoiled by rodents.
