How to properly store fresh cucumbers in the refrigerator

How long can fresh cucumbers be stored?

Select fruits for long-term storage especially carefully.

Let us recall the main advantages of cucumber: in addition to its excellent taste, it is distinguished by its high content of magnesium and potassium; In addition, the fruits contain vitamins PP, B and C, carotene, macro- and microelements.

True, cucumbers contain a lot of water (95-97%), so it is difficult to keep them fresh for a long time. But if you set yourself such a goal, nothing is impossible.

It is necessary to begin selecting cucumbers for long-term storage at the stage of picking or purchasing them: stale or overgrown fruits are not suitable for storage.

How to choose cucumbers for storage

The fruits should be:

Fresh:

• When collecting cucumbers in your own garden, try to ensure that as little time as possible passes from the time of collection to the moment of storage. Fruits that have lain for several days at room temperature are no longer suitable for long-term storage;

The less time passes from collection to storage, the better.

• When buying cucumbers at the market, pay attention not only to individual specimens, but also to the entire batch. If most of the fruits have wilted, it is better to refuse the purchase - they will not last long, even if some seem fresh.

Clean and dry:

• You cannot wash greens before storing them, because the fruits have their own protection from rotting.

Without damage:

• carefully inspect the cucumbers: there should be no damage to the skin, otherwise the fruits will begin to deteriorate very quickly.

With thick skin:

• For long-term storage, ground cucumbers with thick skin are more suitable than greenhouse cucumbers

are well stored : 'Kharkovsky', 'Nezhinsky' and others.

Excellent keeping quality in long-fruited parthenocarpic varieties, such as:

• Sadko;
• Unwashed 40;
• Nezhinsky local;
• Nezhinsky 12;
• Competitor;
• Bush;
• Parade.

Which cucumbers are not suitable for long-term storage?

There is no point in trying to store such cucumbers - you will just waste your time:

• Watery fruits with thin skin.
• Overgrown cucumbers. They lose all their beneficial properties and are no longer suitable for food. It's better to use them for harvesting.

Such fruits are not suitable for long-term storage:

• Greenhouse varieties of rapid ripening. They can only be stored for 3-4 days.

Competent selection of fruits

According to their properties, cucumbers can remain fresh for up to 3 months. But such a result cannot always be obtained due to non-compliance with the conditions for selecting and storing fruits. The whole difficulty is that these vegetables consist of 95% water, and therefore the issue of ensuring their safety for a long time is always acute.

When deciding how to store cucumbers, the housewife first of all selects suitable specimens. They must meet the following requirements:

• Be fresh. Stale greens cannot retain their aroma and taste for a long time. Only cucumbers picked from the garden can survive several weeks without spoiling.
• Stay dry. Before sending to storage, you should make sure that the fruits are of high quality, have dry skin, and are also suitable for canning.

Fresh vegetables can be stored for future use

Important! You cannot wash greens before storing them for long-term storage. They have a natural protection from a thin coating that is easy to damage.

Even scratches, gouges and squeezing invisible to the eye shorten the shelf life of the crop. Therefore, you should carefully sort out the vegetables before storing them. Cucumbers with thick skin are suitable for long-term storage. Before buying seeds or ready-made fruits, you should definitely find out the variety of vegetables. The most suitable selections for storage are:

• Nezhinsky;
• Sadko;
• Competitor;
• Debut and many others.

It will not be possible to preserve fruits with too thin skin or too watery pulp. Overgrown vegetables will also spoil quickly. Greenhouse and early varieties of these products cannot remain tasty for longer than 7 days.

How to properly store cucumbers fresh in the refrigerator for a long time

In order for cucumbers not to wither in the refrigerator and to be stored as long as possible, they must be kept in special conditions. There are several ways to prolong freshness at home.

How to keep cucumbers fresh longer? To do this, you need to select fruits, observing the following rules:

• The fruits should be firm, without signs of wilting;
• You need to collect vegetables that will later be stored either early in the morning or in the evening. The best thing is when the crop is harvested in rainy weather;
• Not all varieties are suitable for storage; preference should be given to those with dense and thick skin;
• It is necessary to collect fruits for storage at the stage of technical ripeness, so that fermentation processes do not occur inside;
• It is necessary to leave tails 1-2 cm long on cucumbers;
• The skin should be intact without cuts or dents;
• All fruits must be thoroughly cleaned of dirt and wiped dry, if possible not washed;
• Pick cucumbers immediately before storing.

In a jar with a candle

This method is simple and does not take up much space:

1. You need to take a clean glass jar with a capacity of 2-3 liters.
2. Place a paraffin candle in the middle.
3. Place cucumbers in the jar.
4. After this, the candle is lit and burns for 10 minutes.
5. After this, the candle is extinguished and the jar is tightly sealed with a lid.

Due to the fact that a burning candle promotes chemical processes in which oxygen is absorbed, fruits are stored longer.
The jar should be stored in the refrigerator.

Vacuum

Packaging capable of creating vacuum conditions is used not only for storing various meat products, but also many vegetables. And cucumbers are no exception. Vacuum-packed vegetables should be kept cool and away from light.

In order for them to remain fresh for 3 months, you need to clean the vegetables from the soil, wipe them dry and place them in a special container for vacuum packaging. This can be a plastic container with a special device for pumping out air or another device.

In paper

Thick paper will help preserve the fruits. You can use paper towels or napkins. In this case, the paper must be absolutely clean (no ink).

Cucumbers are individually wrapped in paper and placed in a bag. After which they can be stored in the vegetable compartment.

This method will extend the freshness period to 2 weeks due to the fact that the paper absorbs moisture that forms on the surface of the vegetables, as a result of which putrefactive processes slow down.

“Bouquet” in the water

You can keep vegetables fresh for up to a month using cold water. To do this, take any convenient container, pour cold water and immerse the vegetables in it with their tails down 2 cm. Then they are placed in the vegetable section of the refrigerator.

Externally, the fruits in the container resemble a “bouquet” standing in a vase. The water should be replaced every day.

In egg white

Not everyone knows the original method of storing egg whites. Unlike other methods, at the first stage of preparation you should thoroughly wash the vegetables. After drying the fruits, each is brushed with beaten egg white. The surface should be completely covered with a thin egg film.

Due to the protein, a protective film is created that prevents the process of moisture evaporation. Processed vegetables are stored in the lower section of the refrigerator.

In a jar with a candle

This method is somewhat exotic, but if you want to know how long to keep cucumbers fresh, and by “long” you mean more than a month or two, then a candle in a jar is a real godsend.

The method allows you to completely preserve the taste. It is more suitable for storing fruits just picked from the garden, but store-bought vegetables can also be saved using this method.

Sort through the cucumbers. They must be of excellent quality, without the slightest damage. Take a three-liter jar and sterilize. Wipe freshly picked or purchased cucumbers with a dry cloth; no need to wash.

Place a regular candle in a jar (any kind, just not a scented one!), and stack the vegetables around it. But don’t stuff it to the top, you need to leave some space. Light the candle and let it burn for ten minutes.

Then take the metal lid and seal the jar. This must be done so that the candle does not go out. It will go out on its own when the closed jar runs out of oxygen.

Store the container with cucumbers in a cool place.

How to store cucumbers indoors

There are also many ways to store indoors!

In a box or case:

This method will keep the fruits fresh 2-3 days. Cucumbers are carefully placed in a cardboard box, plastic tray, wooden box or paper bag. The room temperature should be within +10...+15°C, air humidity about 90-95%.

If the temperature is lowered to +6...+8°C, cucumbers can remain fresh for up to 10 days.

In damp cloth:

Wrap the cucumbers in a damp cloth and store in a cool (+6...7°C) room, moistening the cloth as necessary. This way you can keep the fruit fresh for about a week.

Regardless of how and where you store cucumbers, periodically, approximately once every 3 days, they must be inspected, removing damaged and lost fruits.

Causes of premature spoilage

The main reasons are violation of temperature and humidity conditions, rapid loss of moisture, and the development of rot on fruits. This occurs when storage conditions are violated or when fruits are incorrectly selected.

Cucumbers can spoil prematurely:

• when storing root vegetables next to ripe tomatoes, apples and other vegetables that emit ethylene gas, which accelerates biochemical processes and shortens shelf life;
• When storing fruits in the refrigerator, you should not allow them to be placed next to the freezer - even at slightly below zero temperatures, cucumbers become soft, covered with mucus, and quickly rot.
• cucumbers placed in plastic bags and tightly tied are instantly covered with condensation, quickly soften, and spoil within 2-3 days.

To preserve cucumbers for a long period, vegetables are sorted at least twice a week. Fruits that are limp and beginning to rot are discarded, preventing the rot from spreading to other vegetables.

Preserving fresh cucumbers for a long time is difficult, but possible. During the period when all preparations are made and the harvest disappears, you can use one or more methods to extend the freshness of cucumbers. By creating optimal conditions and regularly checking vegetables, you can delight family members and friends with aromatic root vegetables for a long time.

How to keep cucumbers fresh longer without refrigeration

There are ways that people kept vegetables fresh before the advent of refrigerators in their homes. Now they seem unusual, but cucumbers are stored this way from a month to six months.

In a pond

The fruits are placed in a bag with small cells and a weight suspended from below and the bag is lowered into a reservoir that does not freeze in winter.

In sand

Thanks to sand, you can save a larger volume of crops without using a refrigerator. The fruits are placed in a container and gradually covered with clean sand so that between them there is a layer of sand without gaps. The container with sand is placed in a cold place, for example, in the basement.

Vegetables will be stored even longer if you bury the container in the ground.

The shelf life in this way can reach several months.

In the well

If you have your own well on the property, a bucket of cucumbers covered with natural fabric is immersed in 1-2 cm of water.

In cabbage

For growing and longer storage, cucumbers are planted between rows of cabbage. The whip with the ovary appearing on it is placed between the leaves of cabbage. Thus, cucumbers grow inside the cabbage, and then are stored in it in a cool place.

In vinegar

Vinegar is poured into a clean enamel bowl with a layer of 3 mm, a colander or wire rack is placed inside, where the cucumbers are placed. The fruits should not touch the vinegar. Cover the container with a lid and store it in the cold.

In a barrel

A wooden barrel is an excellent storage for vegetables. The wood from which it is made must be dense (it is better to take oak). The fruits are tightly packed into the barrel and hermetically sealed. After that, such a container is lowered to the bottom of the river and firmly fixed to protect it from the current.

If you choose the right barrel made of wood that is not prone to rotting, cucumbers will remain fresh for several months.

In the box

The most common way is to place the cucumbers in a box, box or any other container with walls that allow air to pass through.

It is necessary to carefully place fresh dry fruits inside so that they minimally touch each other. Vegetables should be stored at a temperature no higher than 15 degrees and at high humidity, for example, in the basement. Under such conditions, cucumbers can remain fresh for about ten days.

Before storing vegetables in a drawer, you can wrap them in a damp cloth or gauze. This will also help the fruit stay juicy longer.

In a clay pot

The harvest is stored well in clay containers. A thin layer of sand is poured into the bottom of the container, and then a layer of cucumbers is laid out and sand is poured on top again. This pot can be stored both in the refrigerator and in the basement.

Storage methods

You can store fresh cucumbers at home either in the refrigerator or without it. There are several ways to preserve green fruits without refrigeration, but the shelf life of vegetables in this case will be short.

At room temperature

A popular storage method that is suitable for those who want to preserve fruits in large quantities, for example, before pickling, is in a specially selected container. This can be a wooden box, cardboard box or plastic container . Cucumbers must be carefully placed in containers and left in a room where the air temperature does not exceed +15 ℃ and the humidity is at least 90%. If the temperature is reduced to +6 ℃, the vegetables will remain fresh for 8-10 days.

To keep the fruits fresh for about a week, you can place them in a damp cloth . Wet a piece of natural fabric and wrap the crop in it. Store the fruits in a cool room (at a temperature of +6...7 ℃), constantly moistening the material.

For any storage method, do not forget to inspect the cucumbers every 2-3 days and remove spoiled vegetables.

In a refrigerator

in the refrigerator much longer . The easiest method, which does not require preliminary preparation, is to put them in the vegetable compartment . There the crop can lie unchanged for about 3-5 days. A plastic bag will help extend the storage period to 1-2 weeks . Place the cucumbers in cellophane and cover them with gauze soaked in water. In this form, place the vegetables in the refrigerator without covering anything on top.

Fresh fruits are stored in the refrigerator, wrapped in paper . To do this, each copy must be wrapped in a paper towel, napkin or baking paper, then put all the cucumbers in a plastic bag. Vegetables packaged this way can stay fresh for up to 3 weeks.

An unusual storage method for many is in egg white . Cucumbers must be carefully washed and blotted with a towel until dry. Then lightly beat the required amount of egg white and coat each fruit with it. The effectiveness of the method lies in the fact that the protein forms a protective film on the peel, which slows down the evaporation of moisture and wilting. The processed fruits are stored in the refrigerator in a vegetable container.

water will allow you to extend the shelf life of cucumbers in the refrigerator to 3-4 weeks . Take a shallow bowl or tray, fill the container with 1-2 cm of water and place the cucumbers in the bottom, tails down. After filling the container completely, place it in the vegetable compartment. The water must be changed at least once a day. The essence of this method is that as cucumbers lose moisture, they will be able to replenish it and stay fresh longer. For storage in water, it is best to choose fruits with thick, dark green skin.

It is not recommended to store cucumbers together with other ripe fruits (tomatoes, apples, pears, etc.). At what temperature should fruits not be preserved? If it is below 0 ℃, the greens will quickly soften and become covered with mucus, so you should not place them in the refrigerator close to the freezer.

Is it possible to preserve fresh cucumbers until winter?

Another way to store fresh cucumbers is freezing. Housewives do not use this method very often due to the fact that when defrosting, the product loses moisture and becomes lethargic and tasteless . However, this storage method is suitable for further use of cucumbers in preparing okroshka.

To freeze cucumbers, rinse them thoroughly and dry them with a towel. After this, cut into cubes and divide into portions sufficient to prepare one pan of okroshka. Place each portion in a bag and place in the freezer for storage.

It is not recommended to defrost such a product. Place one portion of frozen cucumbers in the prepared okroshka and leave to brew for 10–15 minutes. When cucumbers are defrosted, they will not lose their beneficial properties and taste.

It is recommended to store frozen cucumbers in the freezer for no more than 12 months.

Wrapped in egg white

Cellar owners less often have the question of how to keep cucumbers fresh for a long time, since there are more conditions for this: there is a cool room with fairly high humidity.

For the described method, it is advisable to take cucumbers with a long stem, since after processing the fruits need to be hung somehow.

Wash and dry the vegetables thoroughly. Whisk the egg white and generously coat the cucumbers. After drying, the protein forms a film, which, on the one hand, prevents the evaporation of moisture, and on the other, allows the fruit to breathe.

Processed cucumbers are hung from ropes by the stem and stored in a cool place. In this form, they will retain their beneficial properties and taste for quite a long time.

We suggest you familiarize yourself with Which toilet product is better

They will have to be cleaned before use.

How not to store cucumbers

The freshness of cucumbers cannot be preserved in this way.

Packed in cellophane without air access:

Cucumbers tightly wrapped in a plastic bag or film will last about 2-3 days even in the refrigerator: without access to air, the fruits will “suffocate” and begin to rot.

Along with ripe fruits:

Any ripe fruits that emit ethylene, be they fruits (apples and others) or vegetables (tomatoes and others), cannot be stored together with cucumbers. Under the influence of ethylene, biochemical processes in cucumbers are accelerated and they begin to ripen quickly.

Storage conditions and periods - summary table

Recommendations and useful tips

A few more useful, proven tips for storing cucumbers that will help when preparing the product:

1. For long-term storage, choose fruits with thick green skin. Seeds (overripe) and yellowed are unsuitable for long-term storage.
2. Do not try to preserve gherkins for a long time. They will quickly lose moisture and spoil, just like greenhouse varieties of cucumbers.
3. Do not buy fresh vegetables from a very cold display case for long-term storage. Temperature changes accelerate the process of their deterioration.
4. When storing vegetables, carefully monitor the temperature. At temperatures below zero, cucumbers soften and mucus appears on them.

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Why cucumbers may not be suitable for long-term storage

Alas, not every vegetable can maintain its freshness for a long time. There are clear criteria indicating a decrease in shelf life:

1. If greens have lain for several days somewhere under a table or on a windowsill, they will no longer be stored for a long time.
2. When buying a vegetable in a store or from hand, it is worth assessing its condition. If you come across some limp specimens, most likely the harvest was harvested a few days ago. Such fruits cannot be kept fresh for a long time even in ideal conditions.
3. It will not be possible to preserve greens for a long time with a high moisture content and thin skin.
4. Overgrown fruits also fall into the category of vegetables with poor shelf life. They are best used for blanks.

Early ripening varieties have the shortest shelf life; they do not lose their condition for only 3-4 days. Overripe fruits and cucumbers with yellowed skin are not suitable for long-term storage at home.

Non-standard storage methods

If you don’t like any of the above methods, we suggest you familiarize yourself with unusual methods of storing cucumbers in a country house. We don’t promise that it will be possible to keep cucumbers fresh from autumn until the new year, but it will definitely be possible to significantly extend the shelf life of vegetables. These methods were used long before the advent of refrigerators.

For rural areas, storing cucumbers in a well . Place the fresh fruits in a dry bucket, cover the top with a natural cloth and lower the bucket into the well so that it touches the water surface. In such a cool and humid environment, vegetables can be stored for a long time.

A method similar to the previous one is storage in a reservoir . If there is at least a small pond on your site in which the water does not freeze at sub-zero temperatures, then the cucumbers can be placed directly in the water. Place the vegetables in a synthetic string bag, attach a weight to it and lower it into the pond. Be sure to securely secure the contents.

Many housewives have heard about storing different types of vegetables (for example, carrots) in sand . If conditions exist, cucumbers can be preserved in the same way. Take a clay container and evenly place the fruits in it, sprinkling each layer with clean, dry river sand. Cover the container with a lid and place it in a cool place, such as a cellar or basement. If the room has an earthen floor, you can bury the container with cucumbers directly into the ground, which will further increase the shelf life of the vegetables.

cabbage storage method is most suitable for summer residents. Sow cucumbers between the rows of late cabbage. When the first ovary appears, carefully place the small fruits along with the stem between the cabbage leaves, as close as possible to the head of cabbage. Next, the cucumbers will grow along with the cabbage. When it's time to harvest, lower the cabbage heads with cucumbers inside into the cellar. According to reviews from experienced housewives, you can keep cucumbers fresh for the winter until spring in just this way.

Our article contains both standard modern methods and original time-tested storage methods. How and where it is better to store the fruits is up to you. We hope our recommendations will help you find an option that is suitable in all respects.

Can I use a freezer?

You can preserve fresh cucumbers for the winter by freezing. It's very easy to do this:

1. Cut clean young strong cucumbers into slices or cubes - in a way that will be convenient for later use.
2. Take a tray, cover it with cling film, and lay out the chopped vegetables.
3. Place in the freezer for 3-4 hours or use the quick freeze mode.
4. When the pieces have hardened, pack them in portions into plastic bags, about 300-500 g each.
5. Place back in the freezer.

After defrosting, the greens take on a “glass” appearance, but they are stored all winter, until spring. They will definitely last until the New Year and will be an excellent addition to holiday salads. You can also prepare okroshka, all kinds of snacks and side dishes from them.

Not all varieties are suitable for freezer storage. Some turn into “porridge” after defrosting. If you don't know how your cucumber will behave, freeze a small amount to test.

Unripe tomatoes

Tomatoes, like cucumbers, are heat-loving vegetables. Unripe fruits can be placed on the windowsill, where they will become ripe under the influence of sunlight. To ensure they ripen evenly, periodically turn them green side up.

If you carry out special processing of still green fruits, then they can be preserved until winter.

1. Place them for a few minutes in a container of hot water, the temperature of which does not exceed 60 degrees. Then remove and dry thoroughly.
2. Place vegetables in wooden or plastic boxes with sawdust. The bottom of the boxes should be lined with paper soaked in alcohol. Place the tomatoes with the stem facing up. For the longest possible storage, the fruits are wrapped in napkins soaked in alcohol and sprinkled with straw or sawdust.
3. Boxes with vegetables are placed in a dark, dry place with good ventilation. The optimal air temperature should not exceed 15 degrees.

How to choose the right fruits

It is not always possible to grow your own cucumbers, so many people go to grocery stores on the day of maximum discounts on goods to make preparations for the autumn-winter period. Several principles for choosing vegetables overlap with those listed above, but there are a number of additional ones:

1. It should be remembered that the vegetables could have traveled a long way to the counter, that is, they were collected quite a long time ago. Therefore, they must be examined extremely carefully.
2. Pay attention to the size. Small cucumbers quickly lose moisture and dry out; too large ones are already overgrown and may be bland.
3. It is ideal to take vegetables with thick skin and grown in the ground.
4. When buying at the market, also remember that the farmer could have collected them a long time ago, so choose your own specimens for storage, inspecting each one individually.
5. Cucumbers must be clean and dry. If condensation has formed on them, first dry them on a towel and only then proceed with the preparations.
6. Under no circumstances leave wrinkled or stained food for a long time, as the rotting process occurs very quickly.

To store cucumbers, you need to choose medium-sized fruits

There is no need to wash cucumbers before storing, as this will disrupt their natural protection from rotting processes. Store-bought cucumbers are additionally treated with protective wax.

Ripe tomatoes

Ripe, untreated fruits are stored for about 6 days. After this time, the putrefactive process begins inside the tomatoes. The temperature for storing them should be as low as possible. It is better to put red fruits in a place where the temperature does not rise above 2 degrees Celsius. A ripe tomato speeds up the ripening process of the others next to it. Therefore, you should constantly inspect the boxes, removing ripe fruits.

To preserve ripe fruits longer, use the following methods:

• Place whole tomatoes in sterilized jars with the stem facing up and sprinkle them with mustard powder. Then the jars should be rolled up and stored in a dark place.

• Whole fruits are placed in a jar, and chopped tomatoes are poured on top, which are generously sprinkled with salt. In this way several layers are made. The top layer should be chopped tomatoes. This jar is stored in the refrigerator or other cold place.

• Prepare a solution of salt, vinegar and water in proportions 1:1:8. Clean dry fruits are placed in jars and filled with the prepared mixture. You need to add a little vegetable oil on top (1 centimeter layer) and send the jar to a cool place.