Preserving watermelon until the New Year at home

Watermelon selection

Not every melon fruit is suitable for long-term storage. To choose the right fruit, it is important to consider a number of features:

1. Watermelon retains its taste and beneficial properties for 3-4 months, so preference is given to late varieties that ripen at the beginning or end of September: for example, Ikar, Astrakhan, Volzhanin. Each of these varieties has sweet, juicy flesh and disease resistance. The fruit must ripen on its own, without growth-accelerating substances.
2. Select only undamaged berries without cracks, dents, rot or scratches. For safe transportation, they are transported in boxes filled with straw. The stripes of the fruit should be bright and the color should be uniform. Medium-sized berries are most suitable.
3. Signs of a correctly selected variety are dense pulp and thick peel.
4. It is not advisable to buy goods in supermarkets and large chain stores. Store-bought watermelons, as a rule, are delivered for sale unripe, stuffed with chemical additives. The best option is to purchase from a trusted gardener. It is advisable to agree in advance so that the fruit is removed from the melon a couple of days ahead of schedule. This way, the likelihood of preserving the fruit longer will increase many times over.

Finding the best option the first time is not so easy, but later choosing the right watermelon will become a matter of habit.

How to choose the right watermelon for storage

We have been canning this large berry for a long time and successfully, using pickling either whole or cut into pieces in jars. But, answering the question whether it is possible to store watermelon for a long time in winter, it should be noted that it is not at all necessary to salt it or pickle it with aspirin for this purpose. There are ways in which this berry can retain all its wonderful qualities without being preserved, if not until June of next year, then until November, until December and even before Christmas - guaranteed.

But to make the watermelon on the New Year's table look fresh, you will have to make some efforts. And a lot here depends on how correctly the fruit is chosen.

Right size for storage

The weight of the fruit sent for winter storage plays a big role. Large fruits are prone to rapid rotting, and small specimens do not have the necessary conditions for long-term storage. The optimal weight of stored products should be no less than 4 kg and no more than 5 kg.

Appearance and integrity

A prerequisite must be the ideal integrity of the surface of the fruit.

It shouldn't be:

• with cracks;
• with dents;
• with scratches;
• with sunburn;
• with spots of various shades.

Important! When preparing watermelons for long-term storage, preference should be given to specimens with thick skin and dry stem.

Terms of purchase

To ensure safety for several months, berries should be purchased from late-ripening varieties that have reached full ripeness. It is best if they are collected in early autumn in dry weather. At the same time, overripe specimens are subject to rapid rotting, while unripe ones will remain green throughout the entire storage period.

Basic principles of long-term storage

In creating optimal conditions for long-term maintenance of watermelons, everything is important: from room temperature to storage location. Experienced melon growers have identified a number of basic mandatory rules:

1. Dehydration of the peel. It will be enough to leave the watermelons under the leaves for a day so that the excess moisture evaporates.
2. Soft surface . Any manipulations with the fruit are done with soft gloves.
3. A rack with straw is the best place for long-term storage of watermelons. They are isolated from each other.
4. Temperature within +5…+8°C. Any increase in this norm will lead to souring of the berries.
5. Humidity is maintained in the range of 60–80%. Failure to comply with the indicators will lead to loss of natural moisture of the fruit.
6. Attention and care. Putting the fruits down and forgetting about them until the start of winter is not an option: they are regularly inspected and turned over to avoid stains and rotting.

7. Berries are extremely sensitive to any proximity, so they are stored separately from other crops . Particularly dangerous is the proximity to potatoes, which greatly reduces the shelf life of watermelons.

Fruits are stored both in an apartment and in your own home - each case has its own nuances.

In a private house

In such conditions it is convenient to keep large quantities of watermelons. The main advantage here is the large selection of storage locations. The most optimal:

• basement or cellar;
• attic;
• cool room or summer kitchen;
• pantry;
• garage.

The main condition: carefully monitor the humidity and temperature in the room.

In the apartment

You can also organize a crop storage area in your apartment if you find a dark and cool place. Most suitable for this:

• fridge;
• pantry;
• bathroom;
• glazed balcony;
• mezzanine;
• loggia.

If desired, for large berries in the apartment, allocate an area under the bed or windows.

Interesting facts about watermelons

1. The fibers of a cut watermelon should be white, and the cut surface should sparkle with grains. If the surface of the watermelon you bought is glossy and the fibers are yellow, the watermelon contains nitrates.
2. Watermelon - can be a “boy” or a “girl”. How to distinguish? “Boy” watermelons have a convex bottom and a small circle on it. “Girls” have a flat bottom and a wide circle. Try to buy “Girls”, because... they are sweeter and have fewer seeds.
3. Today, melon growers are seriously interested in watermelons with yellow flesh. In appearance, it is an ordinary striped watermelon, only inside it is bright yellow, and there are very few seeds in it.
4. The first watermelons without seeds were grown by Japanese scientists in the 1960s. Due to the complexity of selection in Russia, this technology never took root, although there were attempts. In fact, these watermelons have seeds, only soft and edible ones.
5. 1000 varieties of watermelons are grown in the world today.
6. Square watermelons are popular in Japan today. No more than 400 pieces are received per year. To grow them, the ovary is placed in a special form made of plastic or glass.

These interesting facts will help you get to know the culture better.

Methods for storing watermelons at home

At home, without equipping a special place, it will not be possible to keep several watermelons in perfect condition at once.

At room temperature

Such conditions will allow you to preserve the maximum amount of useful substances in the pulp: for example, beta-carotene and lycopene are retained by 20% more than in frozen fruits. However, the shelf life of the product at room temperature is reduced to 4-5 weeks.

In the cellar

Before placing watermelons in the cellar, it is important to make sure that the temperature and humidity meet the standards. If the parameters turn out to be stable throughout the entire period, then the shelf life of the berries will be 10–12 months.

In a refrigerator

The main thing in long-term storage is maintaining a stable temperature. In this regard, the most suitable place is the refrigerator. The fruits are placed on the middle or lower shelf, on dense soft fabric.

The disadvantage of this method is the extremely limited space. You can place no more than 1-2 watermelons in the refrigerator. This option is suitable for a period of no more than 2-3 months.

In the freezer

How to store watermelons in the freezer? To do this, they are cut into slices. The pulp reacts poorly to prolonged exposure to strong low temperatures: after thawing, it loses its original structure and a significant part of its nutrients. Therefore, the defrosted product is used to create drinks.

Blanks

In the form of preparations, watermelon will last until next summer. It will lose its original juiciness, but will acquire piquancy and new flavor notes.

Interesting ! If there are a lot of fruits, they are fermented in barrels, like apples. For this purpose, choose berries of the same size weighing about 2 kg.

Another way is preservation in a jar. This preparation will not only look exotic, but will also delight you with its taste. However, you will have to forget about the initial beneficial properties of the fruit.

Is it possible to freeze watermelon before the New Year?

It is not customary to freeze whole berries: when exposed to temperatures below 0, the inside of the berry becomes covered with ice, and when defrosted, it thaws, forming excess water. This affects the taste: the watermelon becomes watery and less sweet.

Many housewives use watermelon to freeze in parts. The taste of the preparations is inferior to the real cut fruit, but there are fans of preservation.

There are several techniques:

• The pieces are cut, dried, and sent to the freezer. After the first stage of freezing, the pieces are poured into a bag and frozen completely.
• The piece is sprinkled with sugar, transferred, and frozen in a container.
• All seeds are completely removed, then the pulp is poured with any fruit juice and frozen in a plastic container for an hour.

Homemade recipes cannot recreate the taste of a real whole watermelon; they are used as ice for drinks and for decorating desserts.

Defrosting of workpieces is carried out in two stages:

1. The container is removed from the freezer, placed in the refrigerator,
2. Finally defrost at room temperature.

Defrosting too quickly will deprive the watermelon of taste and the pieces will completely lose their shape.

Other storage options

In addition to the basic ones, there are additional, sometimes unusual ways to store watermelons.

Wax wrap

For this method, paraffin or wax is melted and then applied in several layers to the fruit. The thickness of the coating is no more than 1 cm. Such fruits are kept in a cool room.

In clay

Clay has adsorption and disinfectant properties and protects watermelon from fungus and dampness. The dense crust protects the fruits from any impact.

The clay is diluted in warm water (the container should not be metal), mixed and applied to the berry in a thick layer. When the crust has completely hardened, the watermelon is put in a cool, dark place.

In sand or grain

With this method, the fruits are placed in a previously prepared wooden box, which is covered with sand. It is not worth compacting too much, so as not to block the air supply. Another option is dry grains without signs of pests.

In the straw

Clean straw is a great way to protect your watermelon. It is both folded into a box and placed on a shelf. Straw can be easily replaced with the ash of deciduous trees, dry tow or dried moss. However, rodents and insects love to be in these materials, so they carefully monitor the area.

Hanging

The fruit is wrapped in natural fabric or old newspapers and hung in a net, canvas bag or string bag. This method will provide the watermelon with air access and uniform temperature and humidity conditions. This option is suitable for large apartments and private houses.

In water

A rather unusual option, in which they use cold water, which completely covers the fruit. A good solution would be to store the watermelon in a prepared ice hole or wooden vat. The liquid is changed 2-3 times, do not allow freezing.

Storage principles

In order for your striped comrade to lie in the cellar for a long time and not spoil, you will need to take into account two key points:

1. Fresh watermelons for storage must be selected correctly. I will tell you further about what to consider when choosing.
2. To preserve watermelons in proper form, certain conditions must be met. These are temperature, humidity and proper placement of fruits in the cellar.

The first point is quite simple. When harvesting melons, try not to bruise the watermelon or scratch the upper dark green skin. For storage, choose fruits that are medium-sized, strong, and have a regular round shape. There should be no wet areas on the crust.

A copy put aside for storage should not be beaten or scratched.

When choosing watermelons in a store, adhere to the same criteria. The fruit should not be dented, much less cracked. We also exclude items with scratches. Give preference to varieties with a thick crust.

We will talk in more detail about storage conditions.

Tips and common mistakes

If it was not possible to save watermelons for a long time, the main reason for this is non-compliance with recommendations. Ignoring or partially following even one piece of advice leads to damage to the product. The most common errors and problems:

• choosing the wrong fruits;
• violation of humidity levels;
• lack of periodic care and inspection;
• temperature fluctuations;
• pests and parasites.

That is why careful preparation and thorough study of the issue are so important. Tips for improving the storage of melons:

1. Watermelons are chosen that are completely ripe so that they do not ripen after picking and are not subject to early spoilage. The taste of unripe berries leaves much to be desired.
2. Fruits should not come into contact with other crops or with each other. The contact points quickly begin to rot.
3. Use only soft bedding (grain, hay, sawdust). Placing a watermelon on a hard surface is a sure way to ruin it ahead of time.
4. Periodically, the fruits are turned over and checked for integrity. Do this with soft gloves so as not to damage the berries.

Upon examination, signs of rot and fungi are revealed. If any fruit has become noticeably lighter than the others, it is removed.

Choosing the right striped berry

Before choosing the right watermelon, follow these rules:

1. Watermelons instantly absorb harmful substances, so you should not buy melons on the highways. Large chain stores sell only watermelons from trusted producers who grow the crop in fields not treated with pesticides.
2. Buy a large, but not huge watermelon. The larger and lighter the watermelon, the riper it is. Pay attention to the spot on the side - it should be yellow and not very large.
3. The tails of ripe watermelons are dry, and the halo under them is keratinized - this is the right choice.
4. A ripe watermelon resonates when struck, and when tapped it produces a clear, ringing, but not dull sound. When pressed with both hands, the peel should bend and crack slightly.
5. Before choosing a ripe watermelon, you need to remember that it is difficult to pierce the skin of a ripe berry with a fingernail; if you do this easily and smell the smell of freshly cut grass, then you know that the watermelon is unripe.
6. Even before choosing a sweet watermelon, remember the most delicious varieties: “Ogonyok”, “Skorik”, “Kholodok”, “Crimson Sweet”, “Photon”, “Leader”, “Suga Baby”, “Sibiryak”, “Ultra Early” ", "gift of the sun", "Cossack".

How to preserve watermelon until New Year's Eve?

Avoid dents and surface damage

Handling watermelon with care is key to successful storage. From the moment of purchase or collection, our green friend must be treated with the utmost care. The fact is that even small dents can significantly reduce the shelf life. Such fruit will be stored for about 10 or 20 days, which, of course, is not suitable for us.

The shape of the fruit must be correct and without visible damage.

1. When carrying watermelons, use gloves and do not place the fruits on hard surfaces. Prepare the racks in advance and lay them with soft material or add a layer of sand. Scratched or bruised fruits can no longer be stored.
2. Place watermelons separately from each other, do not pile them up. If you still don’t take care of one of them, and it begins to deteriorate, the rot will spread to its neighbors lying nearby. In other words, the fruits should not touch each other.

A little trick. If you don't have shelving in your cellar, try hanging watermelons in soft nets. An excellent way to help preserve fruits from damage.