What a Russian feast without the traditional dishes of potatoes! This vegetable culture has become firmly established in our everyday life, and we can not imagine either our daily diet or a solemn table without it. Of course, it is most profitable to make potato stocks throughout the winter from autumn, when its price is the lowest. But how to keep the stock all winter? This issue is all the more acute for those who grow it on their own plot. The volume of grown potatoes can be quite impressive, and the crop is wasted and the work spent on growing it does not want at all.
Cooking potatoes for storage
For long-term storage, select tubers medium in size. Small potatoes will begin to germinate with time, and in large potatoes begin to form voids, worsen the taste of the prepared dish. Large and too small tubers are selected for short storage.
It is important to prepare the potatoes correctly before storing. Tubers should be dried for at least several hours outdoors, and it is better to do this for one or two days in dry weather.
Where to store the potatoes
The best way is to store in a specially equipped cellar or basement, where the temperature for storing vegetables is optimal, all the necessary conditions are met. But not all urban residents have such an opportunity. In this case, you can put bags of potatoes in the corridor or pantry. You can also store potatoes packed in boxes, on the balcony or in the living room, giving them a certain place. Thus, your stock will remain approximately three months. But after that the tubers will start to germinate from the heat.
If you have placed your stocks on a glassed or open balcony, then you have the task of saving potatoes from low winter temperatures. Although in a special insulated box tubers can easily withstand the temperature drop to -15 degrees.
To protect potatoes from frosts, cover them in cold weather with old blankets or clothes. This measure will not freeze and spoil the tubers. When placing potato stocks on a balcony in boxes or bags, leave a small distance of about 15 centimeters from the wall. This measure will allow a good circulation of air, which will not let the tubers rot or spread diseases.