How to store greens in the refrigerator and in dried form: rules, recommendations, nuances

Fresh and fragrant greens are an integral part of a variety of dishes and are actively used in various cuisines around the world. True, if you do not know how to store greens in the refrigerator, the popular ingredient will begin to lose its positive properties in a few days.

The main enemy of products are heat and ultraviolet. Under the influence of these factors, even in the freshest greenery in just a few hours, most of the vitamins will be destroyed. Just put the purchase in the refrigerator is also not enough, many condiments require a specific approach.

The main options for storing greens at home

To keep the greens for at least a few weeks, you need to use one of the following methods:

• Plants are washed in cold water, but not under a stream, but in a small bowl. Only after qualitative study of products they can be rinsed under the tap. Washed elements shake and spread on towels, dry for at least 15 minutes. Then the blanks should be packed in plastic or vacuum dry containers, glass jars with tight covers. At least for a month the greenery will remain fresh.
• In plastic bags, the product will remain in its original form for no longer than one week, but all this time will remain as fresh and useful as possible. We sort through a bunch of greenery, we wash out, we get rid of surplus of a moisture. We lay the grass in a whole package, we collect in it the maximum amount of air and tightly tie it. We store the workpiece on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
• For 2-3 weeks the product can be stored in paper( without wax and printing ink).Purified and dried plants are wrapped in a paper product completely, so that no crevices and gaps remain. Then spray the structure from the spray gun and place it in a plastic bag. We store in the refrigerator.
• You can not wash greens before storage. In this case, just sort out the herbs, put them in a bag and place there a couple of cut bulbs, tied. We store in a cold place, every 4-5 days we change the package to dry and put new bulbs.

Tip: If there is absolutely no time to process the purchase, you need to wrap it in a paper towel and lay it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. We proceed to the following manipulations at the first opportunity.

• Some kinds of greens( spinach, parsley, green onions, celery, lettuce in the head) can lie in the refrigerator for up to a month and a half if they are previously dried. We do not need to wash the products, we just keep them in the open air until we get rid of the traces of moisture, pack it in polyethylene and make several holes in it.

The shelf life of the product will increase to several months if it is properly frozen:

• For this, the plants are cleaned, washed and dried, and the stems are cut off. We put the leaves in sealed containers and put them in the freezer.
• Thyme, parsley and sage should not be frozen as a whole, but in a shredded form.
• You can use foil, not plastic, to store peppermint and dill.
• Salt is harmful to most types of greens. The exception is rosemary and basil. These plants should be sprinkled with fine salt before putting them into the freezer.

It is highly recommended not to interfere with grass during storage. Their smells will mix, killing all the charm of the food additive.

Specific Approaches to Different Types of Spices

Depending on the type of product, it may need to create additional conditions:

1. Parsley and dill will remain fresh for a long time if you put a bunch in a glass of water, cover it with a packet or wrap it around with wet gauze. The fluid will have to be changed every two days.
2. Leaf salad will remain fresh and crispy in a week, if you put it in a bowl, place a rolled sheet of paper towel on top and wrap the structure with a food film.
3. The green onion will remain green for three weeks if its white parts are soaked in cold water and wrapped in a wet rag, and top with paper. Such a blank will be correctly placed in a plastic bag and put into the refrigerator.
4. Peppermint and dill for a long time do not lose their flavor, if you divide them into small portions, and not pack them in a large bundle.

Before consuming greens or adding to food, the ingredient should be soaked in warm water for several minutes. This will restore the plants flavor and taste.

How to dry herbs properly at home?

Before drying the greens, it must be rinsed, cleaned, sorted and discarded by traces of moisture. Then proceed directly to the drying, using one of the methods:

1. Outdoors. We disassemble the plants into small bundles, which we tie with a string. Blanks are hung in a warm and dark room without signs of high humidity. In a few days it will reach the desired state, after which it will need to be poured into a glass container with a lid.
2. In the oven. In this case, the leaves of the green are separated from the stems and shredded. Lay the product in a thin layer on a baking tray, cover with clean, not waxed paper and keep in the oven for about three hours at a temperature of no higher than 40 ° C.Further, we spread the ingredient on glass jars.

Properly processed product does not crumble into dust, does not change color and exudes a delicate flavor after adding to food.

Harvesting green onions for the winter

To keep the green onions for the winter as fresh as possible, one of the following manipulations must be carried out:

• Green onions retain their properties in a frozen form. To do this, mine and clean the product, cut into small rings and in this form, carefully dried. Then we fall asleep in plastic bottles, the volume is no more than half a liter, close and put into the freezer. The main thing is that the onion is absolutely dry.
• The product can be turned into a billet for food, frozen in water, olive or melted butter. In this case, spices can not be added. The required cube is simply thrown into the prepared or prepared dish, adding to it the necessary notes.

If blanks from the greens have changed color, lost freshness or fragrance, this indicates incorrect manipulation. It is better to get rid of such products, otherwise there is a risk of food poisoning.