How to preserve red dates?

Red dates are very delicious, especially when there is plenty of sunshine, the red dates will be sweeter and people will like to eat them more. Eating red dates regularly can also replenish blood and qi, which has a great effect on women's beauty, so female friends should also eat dates frequently. However, after purchasing fresh dates, many people will find that the dates go bad within a few days due to improper storage. So, how should red dates be stored?

1. Refrigeration method

Before storage, the jujubes are pre-cooled and disinfected. The warehouse temperature is lowered to -2 degrees before pre-cooling, and the temperature inside the warehouse is maintained at 0 degrees during pre-cooling. At the same time, TBZ smoke agent (3-6g/m3) is used for fumigation and disinfection. After pre-cooling, the jujubes are packed in the warehouse and lined with 0.03-0.05mm perforated polyethylene film bags. After the dates are put into storage, they need to be cooled down quickly. The storage temperature should be 0 degrees and the warehouse temperature should be -1 degree.

Temperature is the most important environmental factor affecting the storage life of fresh dates. Within a certain temperature range, the lower the temperature, the better the storage effect. Below 0 degrees, the respiration intensity of dates is less than 50% of that at 20 degrees. At the same time, low temperature can slow down the transpiration rate of fruit water and inhibit microbial activity. However, if the temperature is lower than the freezing point of the jujube, the jujube will suffer frostbite. The freezing point of different jujubes is different, so further research is needed.

2. Traditional methods of preserving jujubes

Mainly, fresh dates are dried into red dates or made into processed products such as drunken dates and candied dates for preservation. Although red dates have a high sugar content and are resistant to storage and transportation, their VC content is only 0.12~0.19% mg/g, which is reduced to less than 5% of the VC content of fresh dates. Although the VC content of candied dates can be maintained at 2 mg/g, the short supply period of fresh dates for processing seriously affects the yield of candied dates.

3. Gas Control Method

By adjusting the gas composition in the storage environment of jujube, the respiration of the fruit can be regulated and the growth and reproduction of microorganisms can be inhibited, thereby achieving the purpose of preservation. At present, the research results on the influence of gas composition on the effect of controlled atmosphere storage of jujube are inconsistent.

Fresh dates should be stored in a low temperature refrigerator, so that the storage time of red dates will be longer. However, the red dates we usually eat are frequently processed red dates, which are dried red dates. Such red dates have a longer shelf life, but after we buy them, it is best to put them in the refrigerator to prevent them from being bitten by insects and rotting.