Fresh Peking Cabbage much less storedthan white.
But when choosing the most suitable varietiesand if all storage rules are observed, fresh cabbages can be eaten only until the New Year.
To keep this vegetable even longer, ferment, drying and freezing will help.
You can find information on how to store other types of cabbage, such as Savoy, Brussels sprout, kohlrabi, broccoli or cauliflower, on our website.
Variety selection
What kinds of Chinese cabbage are better suited for storage? For quick eating, you can choose the varieties that are the most satisfy taste preferences person
For example, the "orange mandarin" quickly ripen and give the harvest within six weeks after planting. But such heads are small in size and will not be stored for long. For preparations for the winter it is necessary to grow large middle and late ripening varieties:
- Vorozheya;
- The magician;
- Princess;
- Russian size.
Preference should be given domestic hybridsbecause they are derived from the Russian climate.
Westerners are usually designed for milder weather conditions or for cultivation in greenhouses.
Fundamental rules
How to save Peking cabbage for the winter? First, cabbage is necessary time to collect. Lack of dry and sluggish leaves will affect the duration of further storage. For fresh harvesting, preference is given to varieties that are harvested in September.
External damaged leaves are cut, but not all: the more green will stay in the headthe longer it will lie down. For the rest, no special preparation for storage is required. You can learn about how and in what time it is necessary to store other types of cabbage for storage from our articles.
What is stored Peking cabbage? Before storage, all cabbages are carefully wrapped in cellophane and fold in storage. If space permits, then for convenience it’s best to fold the whole cabbage into wooden box.
Where to store Chinese cabbage? It is best to store Peking cabbage in a cellar or basement. It is rather damp and humid, its microenvironment rarely allows the reproduction of microorganisms, and the heads of cabbies will remain the best.
But this method can be prevented by the presence of some unwanted neighbors: for example, apples. This fruit highlights special substancewhich makes tender cabbage leaves wither, thereby reducing the shelf life.
Optimal conditions and terms
The room should have high humidity, but should not form on the heads condensate.
The optimum value is 95% humidity. The most suitable temperature is from 0 to +2.
What are the rules for keeping Peking cabbage at home for the winter? In an apartment, cabbage can be stored in a refrigerator or on a cool glazed loggia, the temperature of which during the storage period does not fall below 0 degrees.
In general, the storage conditions should be the same as for the cellar: each head is wrapped food film, the whole cabbage is periodically scanned and remove the damaged leaves.
Storage conditions greatly influence the time that the cabbage can stay fresh. Any late ripe head will lie at least a month.
If the crop turned out to be large, and you do not want it to deteriorate, then, in addition to fresh storage, some other ways of harvesting Chinese cabbage for the winter will help.
Ways to save
How to store Chinese cabbage for the winter?
Fresh in the fridge
This method has already been mentioned above. On an industrial scale, before the sale of cabbages, they are stored in a warehouse-refrigerator, putting them in wooden boxes. AT home refrigerator Cabbage, after using food film, it is best to remove it in a special compartment for vegetables. If there is none or it doesn’t fit, you should purchase a large plastic container with a lid.
This method allows you to save fresh Peking cabbage for saladstherefore, it is worth considering how many heads of one person or family will be able to eat, so that the product is not lost. If the vegetable was grown for soupsit is best to prepare the cabbage for winter in advance in another way.
In dried form
For drying Peking cabbage used the oven or special electric dryer:
- The cabbage is cut off the outer damaged leaves, and all the remaining fine cut into strips.
- Put chopped cabbage into a dryer or oven in a thin layer.
- For the oven set temperature 50-100 degrees, do not forget about the mode of convection, or simply leave the door ajar.
- In an electric dryer, the temperature is set 50-60 degrees.
- In the oven it will take 3-4 hours, in the dryer about 5.
Then dried cabbage is folded in bags and cleaned in a cupboard.
It is best to take not polyethylene, but cotton - so the cabbage is not damp, but it will "breathe".
Leaven
Peking cabbage kvass slightly different than white cabbage. Finely chop 5 kg of cabbage, add 300 ml of water, 50 ml of vinegar, 1 teaspoonful of sugar and salt and 1 garlic clove passed through a press into a container.
Everything is mixed and shifted to where the cabbage will be sour. The mixture is properly tamped and put under pressure. One day cabbage pierce to the bottomKeep for another day at room temperature, and then clean in the cold. Through 2 weeks it will be ready for use.
Recipe salting Peking cabbage for the winter in this video:
Frost
Pre-chopped frozen cabbage is great for soups. To do this, the heads also cut off the outer leaves, and the remaining finely shred and portion packaged in plastic bags.
Then it is enough to put the blanks in the freezer and store "on demand". Leaves can be frozen before freezing. blanch in boiling water, for which, after cutting, they are thrown into boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes, thrown back in a colander and allowed to dry slightly on a paper towel.
To learn how to freeze broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower or white cabbage, you can learn from our articles.
In a word, Chinese cabbage does not have a long shelf life fresh, but no wonder Chinese cuisine is famous for its soups and pickles.
To preserve the harvest, finely chopped cabbies can be frozen, dried or fermented.
And those who wish to celebrate New Year with a salad from their own Peking cabbage should pick up optimal conditions store heads and do not forget to check them regularly.
