The best ways to store celery root for the winter at home

Tasty and juicy celery roots are extremely beneficial. If the vegetable is stored under optimal conditions, it will become a useful addition to the diet and a source of vitamins and minerals in winter.

We will tell you further about how to properly store root celery for the winter so that the plant contains maximum nutrients.

Rules for storing root celery in winter

If you plan to consume the root vegetable within a week, it is enough to wrap it in film and put it in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. Under such conditions, it will retain the spicy aroma unchanged.

Celery can be stored for a long time if the following rules are strictly followed::

• The leaves of the root crop are cut off and small roots are left;
• Fruits with a smooth and even surface, without knotty growths, are left for storage;
• the skin over the entire surface should be dense and elastic;
• when knocked, the root makes a dull sound, which indicates the absence of voids.

If you plant a few remaining small roots in the pot, throughout the winter you can get vitamin leaves for salad.

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How to make sure it doesn’t lose its properties

In central Russia, root celery is harvested from the beds at the end of September - early October. To keep it unchanged longer, it is dug up before the first frost.

The dug up root crops are left on the beds for final ripening for several days. The skin will become denser and harder and will protect the pulp from pathogenic microorganisms. Ripened and dried root vegetables are less deformed during transportation and do not rot during long-term winter storage.

Collected root vegetables are prepared for storage:

• cut the tops at an angle, leaving a petiole 2-3 cm long;
• clear the soil and remove thin roots;
• sorted into intact and damaged.

Root crops damaged during harvesting are eaten Firstly.

In the southern regions of the Russian Federation (Kuban, Rostov region, North Caucasus), root crops are stored throughout the winter in trenches. Prepared vegetables are placed in 2-3 layers in trenches and sprinkled with sand. Cover the top with a layer of dry straw and earth. The optimal thickness of the soil cushion for trench storage of celery is 20-25 cm.

Storage methods

Thrifty housewives process damaged, rotten and hollow vegetables and store them in the form of preparations.

Canned

Canned celery - savory appetizer for meat, fish, vegetables.

For the marinade boil 1 liter of water, 40 g of salt, 30 g of sugar, 1 tsp. fennel and 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice for 5 minutes.

This is how you pickle celery:

1. 600 g of root are peeled and cut into 1x1 cm cubes.
2. Sprinkle with lemon juice and blanch for 2-3 minutes.
3. Place the root in a jar and pour marinade over it.
4. The jar is wrapped in a blanket for 3-4 days.

Freezing

For freezing, celery root is peeled, cut into strips and blanched.. The workpiece is dried and placed in portioned bags in the freezer. Used for making sauces and soups.

Drying

Drying the root is the most economical storage method.The collected vegetables are washed, peeled and dried. The pulp is cut into strips or plates and dried. Drying celery is convenient:

• in an electric dryer;
• in the oven;
• in the fresh air.

Blank stored in glass jars with lids or in bags from wax paper in a dry place.

Fresh

The spicy taste and aroma remain unchanged when storing unwashed root, leaf and petiole celery in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. The safe period of such storage is no more than 7-10 days.

Storage in a cellar, garage, basement

Whole, selected celery root retains the maximum amount of valuable substances during the winter. This vegetable replenishes vitamin deficiencies in a meager winter diet and diversifies the usual menu.

Celery is stored in the cellar using one of the selected methods:

1. Root crops are immersed in sand in a vertical position, but the petioles are left on the surface.
2. They are dipped into a liquid clay solution, dried, and placed in boxes of 5-6 kg.
3. The roots are placed in a pile, each layer is covered with a layer of sand or soil with the addition of chalk to protect it from rotting.

If this rule is strictly followed, celery root retains intense aroma and elasticity until spring.

At home

Celery root should not be stored at room temperature., the balcony is also not suitable due to temperature changes. In the absence of a cellar, barn or basement, city residents organize home storage of root vegetables in the refrigerator.

In a refrigerator

A small harvest of celery root can be easily stored in the refrigerator unchanged until spring. The prepared vegetable is cleared of soil and washed thoroughly. Large and small roots, tops are cut off, and the workpiece is dried.

Celery is packaged in plastic bags and placed in the vegetable compartment. There he will lie until spring.

How to store leaf and stalk celery

Not only the roots are eaten, but also celery leaves and stalks. They are also stored in a cellar or apartment until late winter.

Leaf celery after collection, wash and dry on a paper towel. The leaves are wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in the refrigerator. The shelf life of greens is 10-14 days.

Attention! Wet greens wrapped in plastic can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 2-3 days.

Petiole celery used for making juices and salads. The main task when storing such a preparation is to preserve the maximum amount of moisture in the pulp. Petioles are stored for no more than 2-2.5 months. Subsequently, they lose their juiciness and a significant amount of vitamins.

For storage, the stems are pulled out of the ground along with the roots, cleaned. The bundles are kept intact and not disassembled into separate parts. The stems, dried for 2-3 hours in fresh air, are wrapped in cling film and stored in a cool, dry place.

Tips and tricks on the topic

Experienced gardeners know several secrets for long-term storage of celery:

1. The optimal temperature for storing root celery in the cellar is 0...+1°C, humidity is no more than 90%.
2. Often stalked celery is left in the ground until the first frost. To ensure that the petioles remain white longer and do not turn green or become bitter, they are covered with dark non-woven material.
3. Leaf and petiole celery is stored together with the root and a lump of earth in the cellar. To prevent the plant from withering longer, it is buried in boxes with sand, which is periodically moistened.
4. Celery cut before the flowering period is suitable for freezing. The green part of such plants has a more delicate taste.

To reduce crop losses to a minimum, vegetables are periodically sorted, rotten specimens are thrown away.

Conclusion

Celery is a non-capricious plant that can be stored unchanged until the end of winter. The choice of storage method for celery root depends on the amount of harvest and the availability of a cellar or a spacious refrigerator.