How to save a watermelon until the New Year: useful tips

Many people want to keep the watermelon until the New Year holidays in order to pleasantly surprise guests and relatives. Agree, a summer treat will cause a real sensation. Long-standing storage of watermelons is carried out through straw, clay, paraffin and even ash. The procedure is not particularly difficult, but you must have basic knowledge. Consider the most relevant methods that will preserve the beneficial properties, structure and texture of the fruit.

The benefits of watermelon

1. Thanks to watermelon pulp, the intestinal microflora improves, the digestive tract normalizes, and vessels expand. Eating fruits is indicated for people suffering from chronic constipation or, conversely, diarrhea.
2. Watermelon contains fiber, which is responsible for cholesterol. With regular use, the risk of developing atherosclerosis and other serious diseases associated with a large amount of adipose tissue is reduced. In addition, the watermelon maintains a blood glucose index, allowing people with diabetes to live a full life.
3. The berry contains lycopene, a natural antioxidant. It normalizes the functioning of the heart, stabilizes blood pressure, and reduces the risk of developing malignant and benign tumors. With regular use, the possible occurrence of cancer is prevented.

Optimal conditions for storing watermelons

1. Extract of fruits in the basement is considered to be the most profitable option, especially in winter. The main thing is to ensure that the humidity does not exceed 80%.
2. In this case, the temperature should be within the range of 2-4 degrees. It is these characteristics that are the guarantor of preservation of juiciness, taste and structure of the fetus.
3. It is important to remember forever that at minus temperatures, watermelons begin to freeze. This feature leads to an irrevocable loss of quality.
4. The same applies to too high a mode (from 4 degrees). If the mark inside the fetus is violated, fermentation begins, which makes the pulp porridge-like and sour.
5. It is also worth considering the optimal level of humidity, it should not be higher than 80%. Otherwise, watermelons begin to rot massively, again, the taste, juiciness and structure of the pulp are lost.
6. It is worth considering another important point - air circulation. The room for long-term storage of watermelons should be equipped with ventilation or blowing. Such a move will not allow bacteria to actively develop.

Choosing a Watermelon for Long-Term Storage

1. If you get a berry with dents or cracked peel, definitely, watermelons will disappear. The same goes for specimens with an early degree of maturity. Defective watermelons are stored for a maximum of 15 days.
2. Remember that late-maturity watermelons are suitable for storage. Fruits of this kind are not stuffed with nitrates for speedy ripeness. Therefore, you need to buy them in the fall (approximately September 15-30).
3. Berries with a very thick peel are ideal for storage. Give preference to the Volga, Astrakhan, Melitopol, Bykov watermelons. Also suitable varieties are "Stokes", "Dessert", "Grace", "Colds", "Icarus".
4. Before buying, inspect, feel the selected items. In the “correct” watermelons, the peel is bright green and glossy without matte spots. Tap on it to be sure of density and elasticity.
5. A very important aspect in choosing berries is the integrity of the peel. You can not buy watermelons with dents, cracks, burns from the sun, excessively immature areas, scratches and other minor damage.
6. To preserve the goodies until the New Year, choose watermelons with weak immaturity. Ponytails should be green, not dry. Also on suitable specimens white strips and light plaque will be visible.
7. Tap the surface of the watermelon, the sound should be clear, not muffled. Fruits of this kind in the aging process will reach the required level of ripeness, and they will also lie after the New Year (if the situation requires it).
8. Refuse to purchase fruits that are traded along dirt roads on the sidelines. Especially if watermelons are lying on the ground, uncovered with an awning. Watermelons lying on gravel or sand under direct ultraviolet absorb all smog.
9. If possible, buy berries in designated specialized shops. At your request, the seller is required to submit documents and a health book for the services provided. All copies should be stored in one, maximum two rows, but not a huge pile. According to the rules, watermelons are located on a pallet or in a box covered with a canopy.
10. To save watermelon until the New Year, you need to pay attention to the weight of the product. The optimal indicator is 3-5 kg., Not more. Too large fruits will begin to deteriorate from the inside.

How to keep a watermelon until the New Year in the cellar

To comply with all conditions, it is necessary to choose the right room for storage. An ideal option is exposure in the basement or cellar. Immediate preservation depends on the observance of important aspects, which we will discuss below.

Preparation

1. In late autumn and winter, stick to a temperature reading of 1–4 degrees. Observe air humidity of about 75-80%. Organize proper circulation by installing ventilation.
2. Before sending watermelons for permanent storage, sort them out. Next, you need to get rid of excess fluid in the cortex. For these purposes, place watermelons on dry grass and cover with plenty of straw. Soak the berries for 2.5-3 days, periodically turning them over.
3. To prevent the development of the fungus, prepare a lime solution with a concentration of 2%. Lubricate the peel of each watermelon with them, leave to dry for 3 hours. Next, select the appropriate storage option from the methods presented below.

Sand storage

1. Prepare a wooden box of suitable size. Pour dry sifted sand to the bottom, send the watermelon into the cavity. Sprinkle the fruit with sand and tamp.
2. If you decide to store several watermelons in this way, make sure that they do not touch each other. If all conditions are met, preparation and “conservation” is carried out, the watermelon will lie in the box until mid-January – early February.

Shelf storage

1. Make sure that the shelves for future storage of watermelons are located at a distance of 80-100 cm. Line the shelves with needles, straw, dried peat or other natural material.
2. Arrange the fruits on shelves, observing the interval between the berries. Do not touch them. Once a week, check watermelons, turn them over, eliminate rotten ones.

Storage in the ground

1. If you have a summer cottage, use this. Dig a deep hole (about 35-50 cm), line the bottom with shavings of dry wood or straw. The layer should be about 10-15 cm.
2. Treat watermelons with lime at a concentration of 25%, send copies to the pit. Make sure that the berries lie separately from each other. Add more straw or wood to block the sides and top.
3. Sprinkle watermelons on top of the ground to get a 30-40-cm layer. Similarly, you can store a large number of berries, but it is very difficult to keep track of their integrity.

Water storage

1. An excellent storage option that does not require ingenuity and improvised means is the use of water. Pick up a deep tub, send a watermelon into it, fill it with cold, clean liquid.
2. In order to resort to this technique, the surface of the berries must be perfectly intact. In this case, water must be changed once every 8-10 days.

Ash storage

1. Ash serves as an analogue of fruit exposure in the sand. If for certain reasons you decide to resort to this method, choose ashes from burning branches of fruit trees.
2. The technology of "conservation" is identical: pick up a wooden box, line the bottom with ash, lay out the berries and sprinkle them. Duration of exposure - until January.

Grid storage

1. If you plan to keep a small crop until the New Year, use a string bag or a fine net. Pick one fixture for each berry.
2. Wash the fruit with newspaper, parchment paper or album sheets, send inside. Hang the net from the ceiling in the basement or cellar. It is important to prevent the fruits from touching each other.

Moss storage

1. To resort to this method, it is necessary to collect moss in the fall. It must be dry and whole, otherwise the watermelons will rot. Before you start packing the berries, spread the moss in the sun, leave it for 2 days to dry.
2. Pick a box of wood of the right size. It will be better if each instance has a separate box. Line the bottom with moss, send the watermelon inside, wrap it on all sides, tamp.

Clay storage

1. Many housewives resort to this method on the advice of grandmothers, and this is not surprising. The method is considered the most effective of all available. If you create an individual cocoon for a watermelon, the fruit will lie down to six months without losing its taste and structural properties.
2. Paraffin, alabaster or clay is taken as the basis for sculpting. You need to prepare the composition, then “wrap” them with each berry. The product layer should not be less than 1 cm. After hardening, watermelons are quietly placed on shelves, suspended in a net or wrapped in straw.

How to keep a watermelon until the New Year in the apartment

1. To present the berry to the festive table, it is necessary to organize all the conditions for long-term storage. Maintaining temperature is easiest in the refrigerator.
2. Before loading the watermelon into the chamber, send it to the freezer for 1.5 hours. Soak at -10 degrees to allow pretreatment. Next, send to the refrigerator, observe the regime of 1-4 degrees above zero.
3. If it is not possible to store watermelon in the refrigerator, ensure proper conditions on the balcony. In winter, the temperature should not fall below +1 degrees.
4. Excellent options for preserving the fruits are the methods described above. You can also make a “cocoon” of paraffin, send the berry to a box with ash or sand, keep it in cold water, etc. The placement option is considered similar: hanging, laying on shelves.

Consider ways of storing watermelon in earth, sand, water, straw, ash, moss. Hang the fruits from the ceiling, pre-wrapping them with newspaper and placing them in a net. Put the berries on the shelves so that they do not touch.

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