Keeping tomatoes fresh at the end of the season seems like an impossible task, but I'll tell you the opposite. After long-term storage, tomatoes may look like they were just bought from the store!
There are many options, but I have selected only those that really work without chemicals and at home, while maintaining the taste. I'll tell you how to do it right.
A few words about what the environment should be like
First of all, choose varieties that are suitable for long-term storage. Store vegetables in shaded, cool places. Air humidity should be no more than 80%.
Correct harvest for storage
Tomatoes must be harvested before frost, preferably during the day. Fruits must be sorted: ripe and boiled ones must be selected. Tomatoes should be disinfected with alcohol before storing them.
Storage methods for tomatoes
Sugar, fleshy tomatoes cannot be stored for long. Slightly unripe vegetables are kept fresh for two days longer than ripe ones.
Tomatoes grown in open beds are stored better than greenhouse ones.
In the cellar
Vegetables remain fresh at temperatures of + 10-15 ° C. So the most suitable place is a cellar or basement. The fruits are put in boxes, paper is laid between the layers. It is not recommended to put more than three layers of fruit: the lower tomatoes can deteriorate from the severity of the upper layer.
If there is no basement, vegetables can be scattered on the floor in any room. Unripe tomatoes will ripen after a while at room temperature.
On the balcony
The balcony is suitable for storage, provided that the air temperature is no more than + 15 ° C. Tomato boxes should be covered with a cloth to protect them from sunlight.
In banks
Ripe fruits are washed, dried, placed in sterilized three-liter containers. Pour alcohol in the amount of 3-4 tablespoons, cover with a nylon lid and shake gently, the tomatoes should be completely wet. In the middle, you need to put an alcoholized thread and set it on fire from the outside. Roll up the container with a metal lid while alcohol is burning.
In sawdust
Under each layer, laid in boxes, put paper and sprinkle with sawdust. The boxes are best placed in a cellar, basement or balcony.
In boxes
Choose slotted wooden crates. You can put dry hay on the bottom. Tomato boxes are covered with gauze.
In a container with mustard
Mustard is poured into a sterilized jar (2 tbsp. l.). Clean and dried fruits are placed in a container, sprinkling each layer with mustard powder. A jar filled with vegetables is corked and stored in a cool place.
In paper
Tomatoes wrapped in paper are stored for a long time in the refrigerator, in the basket, and in the drawer. Just don't put a lot of tomatoes on top of each other, two layers are enough.
Storage in the apartment
Ripe tomatoes do not store well at room temperatures above +22 ° C. These vegetables contain a lot of moisture and sugar, which creates excellent conditions for fermentation. Fleshy tomatoes with thin skin can be stored in a warm place for no more than three days. If the fruit has a dense skin, this period increases to a week.
In order not to get poisoned by a stale product, tomatoes cannot be stored in a warm room for more than the prescribed period.
Refrigerated storage
Tomatoes can be stored for 14 days wrapped in paper. The best storage space in the refrigerator is considered to be the lower shelves and vegetable drawers. The paper needs to be replaced periodically.
I do not recommend storing tomatoes in a tightly closed plastic bag, as they deteriorate due to condensation.
Tomatoes, when stored for a long time in the refrigerator, lose their taste.
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