It is not for nothing that the pumpkin is called the “queen of the garden”. This beautiful vegetable contains a huge amount of useful substances, without exaggeration, you can cook anything from it - independent dishes, side dishes, desserts, use pumpkin as a filling for pies, make juice from it and even use it as a dish, for example, for pickling cucumbers. But in order to fully enjoy the pumpkin, you need to be able to choose and save it correctly.
Instructions
Step 1
Choose a pumpkin. Three types are popular with us: large-fruited, nutmeg and hard-barked. Hard-bark is small fruits of different colors, from orange to yellow with green stripes, they have unsweetened flesh, almost devoid of starch, and tasty seeds. Large-fruited pumpkin - loose, sweet, with a lot of fibers, can be stored for a long time. The sweetest pumpkins are nutmeg, they can be eaten raw, and you can also make desserts from them.
Step 2
Store the pumpkin in any cool place. The best option is, of course, a cellar. But in the conditions of an apartment, it can also be a glazed loggia. The most important thing to remember is that winter pumpkin varieties do not like direct sunlight. Arrange the fruits so that they do not touch the sides, and cover with a cloth. If it gets too cold on the loggia (below 0-2˚С), wrap them up in a warm blanket or blanket. Also, pumpkin can be stored at room temperature in a dry room (in the kitchen), but preferably no more than 1 month. Uncut pumpkin can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Step 3
Cover the cut pumpkin on the cut with foil and store in the refrigerator for no more than 3-4 days. In order to cut it, first cut off the stalk with a sturdy knife. Then cut up the pumpkin - the knife must be very sharp and force will have to be used here. Maybe you need a chopping knife.
Step 4
Also, cut and peeled pumpkin can be frozen and stored as long as you like. To peel a vegetable, pierce it several times with a fork, then microwave it for about 2 minutes maximum to soften the skin. Cut off both tops of the pumpkin and cut it in half. Place each piece, cut side down, on a cutting board and peel off the peel with a thin knife or peeler - it should be cut in strips from top to bottom. Then cut the pumpkin into pieces, wrap it tightly in plastic and store it in the freezer. If necessary, the pumpkin harvested in this way is thawed and prepared according to the recipe, like fresh.
