Content
Garlic is a delicious and vitamin-rich food. But it is harvested in summer, in July-August, and in winter, as a rule, imported garlic is sold. How to store garlicgrown on Russian beds for your own needs, if you live in an ordinary apartment? At first glance, the task seems difficult, but our advice will help even those who first encountered it.
Choosing garlic for storage
Garlic is different. He, like other vegetables, is subdivided into varieties. The quality of storage and the degree of preservation depend on the correct choice of the variety and type of crop. Beginners should know that all garlic can be divided into two types:
- spring (summer);
- winter.
The first is sown in a warm spring, and dug out at the end of August. It is smaller, but it is well stored even in an apartment. Winter garlic is a completely different matter. It is planted in the fall, it is frost-hardy, has large heads and does not store well.
Winter garlic varieties:
- Gafurian;
- Komsomolets;
- Alcor;
- Sofievsky and others.
Spring garlic varieties:
- Yelenovsky;
- Gulliver;
- Sochi 56 and others.
There are many imported varieties on the market now. Growing a culture on your own, you need to carefully study the characteristics. As a rule, winter varieties are dug up, eaten and then reused for planting for the winter. But spring - can be stored for a long time. This does not mean that winter varieties cannot be stored.
The easiest way to tell a winter bulb from a summer bulb is to look for a thick stem that starts at the roots. The spring does not have such an arrow; instead, only soft leaves are present. Below is a video on this topic.
Preparatory work
Those who have a cellar or an insulated barn in their home have nothing to worry about. This vegetable is remarkably stored throughout the winter at a temperature of 2-4 degrees in a suspended state. If it is well dried and not susceptible to disease, it will remain tasty and juicy until spring.
But how to store garlic in a city apartment? Is it possible? Yes, this is a completely doable task. But before talking about how to store garlic in an apartment, let's talk about the preparatory stage.
Initially, the vegetable must be properly collected and dried. Here are just a few tips:
- the bulbs must not be damaged;
- dry them in the sun for at least 5 days;
- heads with empty grains must be removed to the side;
- if roots are present, then they are cut off (you can also do with the stem).
Everything, the bulbs are ready, you can talk about how to save the garlic until spring.
Storage methods in the apartment
There are practically no conditions for storing this vegetable in the apartment. There may be a small storage room or a glazed balcony. The temperature regime in such rooms can vary significantly during the winter. The air during the heating season can also dry out greatly.
Based on all these conditions, we will offer the best proven methods of storing bulbs in an apartment. First, determine where to store the garlic. It is very important. Now you can choose one of the ways.
In the fridge
Storing garlic in the refrigerator is an easy and convenient way to preserve a vegetable until winter. In this case, there are two options from which you can choose the one that suits best:
- freezer;
- vegetable compartment.
Many people talk about the benefits of freezing. This vegetable can be stored in the freezer for several months. To do this, just wrap it in a simple bag. He will retain all the useful qualities.You can enjoy the garlic from the freezer whenever you want.
But not everyone has large freezers. The vegetable compartment is also suitable for storing garlic. The optimum storage temperature for it should not exceed 5 degrees. In this case, the garlic is kept wrapped in paper for the winter or placed in a container with flour or sawdust. The main problem with this storage is high humidity. This product can only be stored well in an absolutely dry form.
In glass jars
Many people prefer to store garlic in glass jars in an apartment in winter. There are several proven ways that you can use. Let's talk about the main ones:
- grinding the cloves into powder;
- storage in oil;
- storage in salt or flour.
The air temperature in apartments in winter increases significantly, the air becomes dry, and garlic can quickly lose moisture. They must keep it in something. First, remove the dry peel from the garlic. It is best to take a large jar, place dry material on the bottom, and then start spreading the bulbs, sprinkling the layers. As a bulk material, you can choose:
- coarse sea salt;
- flour;
- sawdust.
Banks are pre-sterilized. The best way to store in an apartment is hard to find. During the winter period, garlic will lie in jars on a shelf in the closet, and flour, sawdust or salt will absorb excess moisture.
During the entire storage period, you will need to monitor the heads in the bank. If salt, flour, or sawdust becomes damp, the bulbs will need to be removed, dried and refilled.
Oil storage is a slightly different process. To do this, put peeled cloves of garlic in clean and sterilized jars, and then fill them with any vegetable oil. The oil protects the garlic from the harmful effects of microbes that can damage the cloves. In this form, you can keep the garlic until spring, and it will not lose its taste.
Rosemary, oregano, marjoram and other herbs can be added to the oil. Then the cloves will be saturated with aroma and become even tastier.
In a canvas bag
Long-term storage should always be approached thoroughly. In an ordinary apartment, you can keep fresh heads of garlic in an ordinary canvas bag. However, it is required to put onion peels there or subject the bulbs to processing. It is as follows:
A strong saline solution is boiled. Each onion is dipped in it for a few seconds and left to dry in the sun. Once the product is completely dry, you can place it in a bag and put it away in a dark place.
The most important thing when storing this tasty and healthy product in an apartment is to observe it from time to time. The optimum temperature is +22 degrees, but it is difficult to achieve such a regime. During the heating season, the temperature can rise to +28 degrees.
Storing minced garlic is difficult. To do this, you need to dry the teeth, depriving them of moisture, and then grind them in a coffee grinder. This method is simple in an enterprise, when it is possible to deprive garlic of water using a technological process. Remember that in this case, the product is deprived of most of the beneficial qualities.
Conclusion
Today we learned how to properly store garlic in an apartment. Using the proposed tips and methods, you can only eat a summer juicy vegetable all winter. This will allow you not to spend money on an expensive imported product.
