Bright, juicy, rich in vitamins, beets are a popular ingredient in salads, appetizers, first courses and even desserts.
Preserving the nutritional and taste properties of this product in a city apartment is not easy. The thing is that at temperatures above +4°C, beets begin to deteriorate very quickly. A good solution is to hide the root vegetables in the refrigerator.
We will tell you below how to properly store beets in the refrigerator.
Preparation for storage
Before putting the beet in the refrigerator, it must be properly prepared:
Sort .
Only whole root crops not damaged by rot are selected for storage. Broken and disease-damaged vegetables are sent for processing. Ideal beets for storage look like this: a healthy, defect-free fruit, with a diameter of 10 to 12 centimeters.Larger tubers with a fibrous structure lose their taste and juiciness after long-term storage.
- Dry it . Before long-term storage, the beet must be kept for up to two to three days in a dry, well-ventilated place with diffused lighting (direct sunlight is harmful to root crops). If vegetables enter the house from wet beds, the drying time increases to seven days.
- Clear . Before putting the beets in the refrigerator, carefully remove the tops from each tuber. The leaves are cut with a sharp knife, leaving an even cut of the petioles of 1 cm. The main root is also shortened with a sharp knife to 5-7 cm. The thin lateral roots are cut clean. You cannot twist the tops by hand!
There is no need to wash whole tubers before storing them in the refrigerator. Large pieces of soil are cleaned with a soft brush, leaving a thin layer of soil as a natural protective barrier that preserves root crops from rotting, drying out, and damage from pathogenic bacteria.
How and for how long is it stored?
Optimal storage conditions for beet: temperature not higher than +4°C, air humidity 90% . In a city apartment, the refrigerator that most accurately meets all the necessary parameters is the refrigerator.
Depending on whether the beets are raw or boiled, peeled or peeled, the organization of the storage process in the refrigerator may differ.
In the peel
Before placing raw, unpeeled beets in the refrigerator, they are packaged in thick plastic bags . Packages of vegetables are placed in special compartments for vegetables or on shelves located as close as possible to the freezer.
The bag is filled to no more than 2/3 of the volume; holes must be cut in the polyethylene for ventilation. Alternatively, you can use paper bags or wax paper.
Purified
Peeled beets very quickly weather and lose moisture. To preserve the freshness of the peeled root vegetable for as long as possible, it must be placed in a special vacuum container (or bag). Blocking air access prevents the growth of bacteria and will help maintain the juiciness and appearance of the product.
Boiled
From the moment of preparation, boiled beets should be disposed of as quickly as possible.
If boiled vegetables do not reach the table for some time (no more than four days), you can store them in the refrigerator, placing them in an enamel or glass container with a tight-fitting lid .
Whole boiled beets can be stored for the longest possible time. Once vegetables are peeled and cut, storage time is cut in half. Read more here and here.
Freshly squeezed beet juice
Unlike other freshly squeezed juices, fresh beetroot must be kept in the refrigerator for at least forty minutes before use. During this time, the juice becomes more saturated, the taste becomes brighter, and harmful compounds evaporate. At room temperature, freshly squeezed juice can be stored for no longer than forty minutes.
For longer storage in the refrigerator (up to 72 hours) :
- pour the beet juice into a glass jar or bottle (alternatively, you can use plastic bowls with a lid or vacuum containers);
- add half a teaspoon of lemon (per one liter of juice);
- Seal the container with the juice with a lid and store it in the refrigerator, close to the freezer.
Lemon juice prevents the development of the fermentation process, and a tightly closed lid blocks the access of oxygen.
Fill the jar or bottle so that the beet juice slightly overflows. This helps get rid of air, the main stimulator of the fermentation process.
Grated
Sliced beets can only be preserved in a vacuum or frozen . The thing is that upon contact with air, the grated root vegetable oxidizes, losing not only its appearance, but also its nutritional value and taste.
To preserve the quality of the product, grated beet is placed in the freezer or refrigerator, having previously been loaded in portions into vacuum bags.
Beetroot juice contraindications
Undoubtedly, freshly squeezed juice has healing properties. It compensates for the lack of essential vitamins, minerals and amino acids necessary for organ function.
Is the red drink beneficial for everyone and are there any contraindications to its use? Before starting beetroot therapy, you should consult a doctor to find out if your health allows you to drink a drink made from a fresh root vegetable. There are a number of contraindications and warnings that you should be aware of.
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, duodenum.
- In case of an individual allergic reaction to the root vegetable.
- When diagnosing kidney stones.
- The drink will cause diarrhea if you have a sensitive intestine.
- Long-term use can provoke spasms of blood vessels.
- For those who suffer from high stomach acidity.
- With caution for children under 16 years of age.
- Prudently for people suffering from stage 1 and 2 diabetes.
- For rheumatoid arthritis, since the oxalic acid of the product will harm the body.
Each of us has been familiar with beets since childhood. In modern scientific medicine, beets are not widely used as a remedy and are less popular than in ancient medicine, but the benefits of this red vegetable have been written in many scientific works.
Dishes with beets are known not only in Russian cuisine, but also in other countries. By regularly consuming the healthy root vegetable and its juice, our body will become stronger, because this plant is a powerful source of vitamins, micro- and macroelements.
Expiration dates
Depending on whether the beets are placed in the refrigerator boiled or raw, the shelf life may vary.
Boiled
Unpeeled whole tubers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days. Peeled root vegetables can be stored for up to seventy-two hours .
Boiled beets, cut into large pieces, remain fresh in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Boiled beets, grated on a coarse grater or cut into small cubes, retain their appearance and taste for no more than a day.
Raw
In a plastic bag with holes for ventilation, whole tubers can remain fresh for up to three weeks , in a paper bag for up to fourteen days.
Peeled and cut beets retain their nutritional properties for at least twenty-four hours, provided that the product is placed in a sealed container.
A few words about potato fast food
One of the most popular and best-selling fast food items is French fries. In the McDonald's chain of enterprises it is present in almost every order. Due to its structure and the influence of a number of factors, this product cannot be stored for a long time. After conducting numerous experiments, the corporation's specialists established the optimal storage time for French fries - exactly 5 minutes. But these are McDonald's standards, which took into account, first of all, taste. In fact, the dish is suitable for consumption for 18 hours, but when it begins to cool, it quickly loses its original rich taste and aroma. You can extend the “life” of finished fries by placing them in the refrigerator, but with this storage method, the taste of the dish will be irretrievably lost. No microwave or strong heating will bring them back.
Can it be frozen?
Freezing extends the shelf life of beets to eight months. In order for the beet to retain its juiciness, color and maximum vitamins after defrosting (unfortunately, the root crop loses some of its nutrients when frozen), it is worth remembering a few rules:
- For freezing, use only clean and dry containers (disposable plastic containers with a hermetically sealed lid or special zip-lock bags are ideal).
- Before freezing, fresh beet is washed, peeled, and dried with a paper towel.
- Grated or cut into pieces beets are frozen in portions, exactly as much as is needed to prepare one dish.
- To prevent the grated beets from turning into a lump when frozen, they are laid out in a thin layer in a tray or bag, placed in the freezer for two hours, after which the container can be supplemented with another layer of chopped vegetables.
- Whole boiled or baked beets must be peeled before freezing.
- To prepare baby food, beet puree is frozen. To do this, vegetables are first boiled, peeled, ground in a blender, placed in portioned cups (paper or plastic) and stored in the freezer.
Defrost the beet in the refrigerator or on the table at a temperature not exceeding 10°C.
Do not immerse bags of vegetables in hot water or defrost the product in the microwave. During shock defrosting, beets completely lose their taste, brightness of color and nutritional value.
This video will show you how to store beets in the freezer:
In the freezer
The freezer will help increase the shelf life of fresh juice up to six months.
Sub-zero temperatures allow you to preserve all useful elements without destroying most of the vitamins and enzymes. To freeze, you must use the freshest possible product, prepared no more than 15 minutes ago. The liquid should be poured into plastic bottles or sealed bags. Use the container volume that is most convenient for you (if you are the only person in the family who loves fruit or vegetable squeezes, opt for containers of 200 - 250 ml). Do not fill the bottle with fresh juice to the brim: leave some free space for the liquid to expand when frozen. Before drinking, move the frozen drink to the refrigerator shelf and allow it to thaw smoothly. There is no need to subject it to sudden defrosting using a microwave oven or boiling water.
Article on the topic: Why the upper chamber of the refrigerator does not freeze
How to preserve the product longer?
A vacuum bag will help extend the shelf life of beets in the refrigerator to thirty days. The vacuum 100% blocks contact of the product with pathogenic bacteria, preserves the vegetable from weathering, and prevents the penetration of unpleasant odors into the bag.
Before placing the beet in a vacuum bag, you must:
- Carefully wash each root vegetable, trying not to damage the skin, in warm water, cut off the tops;
- soak the beets in a saline solution for at least thirty minutes (1 tablespoon of salt per liter of water is enough);
- Dry the root vegetables with a paper towel and place them in a single layer in a bag.
A pipe from a vacuum cleaner is applied to a special valve on the bag and, sucking out excess air, the vegetables are packed for long-term storage in the refrigerator.
A good alternative to vacuum bags will be special vacuum plastic containers. They are easy to buy in hardware stores or on specialized websites on the Internet.
Alternatives
When there is no free space in the refrigerator, you can organize beet storage on the balcony.
Prepared unpeeled vegetables are laid out in boxes (each layer is sprinkled with clean sand) or packaged in bags (the polyethylene must have holes for ventilation).
After which they are sent to a dark, cool place (temperature no higher than +5C) with good ventilation. If the balcony is not insulated and in winter the air temperature in the room may drop below normal, the boxes with beets are additionally insulated with foam lining.
Buryak tolerates being near potatoes very well. By putting vegetables in one box, you can save a lot of free space on the balcony. Another non-standard method of storing beets at home is drying (good for small volumes of root vegetables).
The beets are peeled, chopped into thin slices, after which, spread on parchment in one layer, dried in the oven at 90 C for seven hours . During the drying process, vegetable slices must be turned over periodically.
Dried beets can be used to prepare first courses, and after softening the slices in warm water, they can be used as an ingredient for salads and appetizers. For kids, dried beet slices are an excellent substitute for fried potato chips.
Adviсe
It is very convenient to freeze beets by placing them in bags. After filling, the bags are leveled, releasing excess air to give the most flat appearance. The bags are then stacked in a separate drawer in the freezer. In this form, packages take up (in this form they take up minimal space).
You can freeze chopped beets along with other vegetables (for example, carrots). At the right moment, remove the vegetable mixture from the freezer and add it to the prepared broth. To prepare first courses, you do not need to defrost the beetroot.
Foil will help preserve the beets in the refrigerator. It is enough to wrap each root vegetable in a thick layer of food foil and place the vegetables in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator.
Benefit
Freshly squeezed juices are beneficial for several reasons. It is a storehouse of vitamins, minerals and microelements that affect the condition of the entire body: strengthen digestion and blood vessels, normalize sleep and improve physical and emotional well-being.
Freshly squeezed juices are beneficial for several reasons. It is a storehouse of vitamins, minerals and microelements that affect the condition of the entire body: strengthen digestion and blood vessels, normalize sleep and improve physical and emotional well-being.
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