How to preserve leftover cucumbers

Cucumber is a vegetable that can be seen all year round, especially in summer. Because the weather is hot, many people like to eat some cool food. Dishes made from cucumbers are very refreshing and can promote people's appetite. Some people who have land at home will grow some cucumbers for their own consumption. In the season of cucumber harvest, they may not be able to finish eating all the cucumbers. How to preserve the cucumbers?

1. Can cucumbers be stored in the refrigerator?

It is not recommended to store cucumbers in the refrigerator. It won't be very fresh if kept in the refrigerator, unless it is eaten within a short period of time.

The storage temperature in the refrigerator is generally around 4℃ to 6℃, while the suitable storage temperature for cucumbers is 10℃ to 12℃. Cucumbers contain a lot of water. If they are refrigerated for a long time, they will be frozen, turn black, become soft, and change their taste. If cucumbers are kept in a refrigerator at 0℃ for three days, their skin will become waterlogged and lose their flavor. Of course, if you wrap the cucumber with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator's fresh-keeping room, there is generally no problem keeping it for 1 or 2 days.

Temperature characteristics of cucumber storage: The growth temperature of cucumbers is generally 20-25℃. They are extremely sensitive to low temperatures and will suffer from chilling damage within two days below 10℃. Some cucumbers do not have obvious chilling damage symptoms at low temperatures, but will rot quickly when returning to normal temperature. The suitable storage temperature is 12-13℃, and the relative humidity of the air is about 95%.

2. How to store cucumbers properly

1. Cucumbers are relatively easy to preserve. If you need a small amount, you can put them directly in a vegetable basket and hang them in a ventilated and cool place. They can be kept fresh for 3 to 5 days. Do not pile cucumbers randomly. Place the cucumbers in a basket and place the basket in a cool, shady place for good ventilation and heat dissipation to control the growth of microorganisms.

2. Put salt water in a bucket and soak the cucumber in it. At this time, many tiny bubbles will spray out from the bottom, thereby increasing the oxygen content in the water or the water around the bubbles, which can maintain the cucumber's own respiration. If there is sufficient water source, you can also use flowing water, such as river water, stream water, etc. This method of preserving cucumbers can keep the cucumbers fresh for about 20 days under the conditions of 18-25℃ in summer.

3. Wash the fine sand from the riverbed to remove the soil, put it into a pot and fry it until dry and disinfect it. After it cools to room temperature, spray it with water to moisten it, and spread it on the bottom of the container 2 to 3 cm. Arrange a layer of cucumbers, spread a layer of sand, and cover the top with sand. Place the container in a cool room or cellar and store it at 7-8℃ for 20-30 days to keep the cucumber's color, aroma and taste normal.

4. Use a certain amount of sucrose fatty acid ester, add a certain amount of water, heat to 60-80°C and stir to dissolve, and slowly add a certain amount of sodium alginate, continue stirring until fully dissolved, and cool to room temperature for use. Dip the cucumbers in the coating liquid, take them out after 30 seconds and let them air dry naturally, then pack them in plastic bags and store them at room temperature. This method can store them for more than 10 days.