We are used to eating a fresh watermelon only during the melon season, but it can become the highlight of the New Year's table. The only difficulty is that keeping a watermelon in your apartment until the New Year is not easy. Not everyone knows how to do this, but it is possible!
Of course, you can buy it in the store, it is difficult to vouch for the quality. Naturally, a practical solution appears - to save it yourself, in the garage, in the attic or even in a city apartment.
Choosing a Watermelon Suitable for Storage
It doesn’t matter what conditions you have and how you want to store the sweet berry, first of all, you need to choose the right fruit for this, because the shelf life directly depends on its quality.
For long-term storage, you need to choose watermelons:
• Fruits weighing 4-5 kg;
• Completely whole berries, on the surface, any damage to the upper layer of the fruit is inadmissible - cracks, traces of sunburn, dents on the peel or scratches;
• Fruits harvested from late varieties on which there is a thick and dense skin, they are able to lie longer than others.
The necessary conditions
In order for fresh watermelons to probably lie down until the New Year, it will be necessary to organize special storage conditions for them. An ideal room should have the following properties:
• Sunlight should not penetrate;
• There should be good ventilation;
• Cool.
The most suitable temperature for storing fruits is 5-8 degrees, with air humidity of 60-80%, if the room is warmer or colder, or there is more moisture in the air, the shelf life of the watermelon will be significantly reduced.
You can store the fruits, both in a private house, and in an ordinary apartment.
How to save a watermelon in an apartment
Of course, it is more difficult to store fresh watermelon in an apartment for a long time, in your home it is much easier to do. There are few suitable places in the apartment, but it is easy to find them:
1. On a closed balcony;
2. In a dark pantry or in a niche;
3. And not surprisingly, in the bathroom.
Storage at home
It’s easier to store fresh berries in your own house than in an apartment, it’s easy to pick up more places to store.
To do this, fit:
• Dry cellar or cellar;
• Warm garage;
• Attic over the house;
• You can use a summer kitchen or other room where the temperature does not rise above 5-8 degrees;
• You can successfully store a small amount of the “sun berry” crop in the pantry. The main thing is to regulate the temperature and humidity level.
Storage methods
Choosing the right place, you need to decide on what technology you will store the berries, there are several fully working methods, you can choose the one that best suits your conditions.
The first way is hanging
This technology will help to save berries both in the apartment (use the pantry) or in your home (pantry, dry basement). The fruit must be tightly wrapped with natural fabric in such a way as to completely cover it, after which they are hung in a string bag on a hook. The watermelon must not be allowed to touch anything (shelves, walls).
The second way - in the straw
It is possible to preserve the “sunny berry” using straw; for this, the shelf or bottom of the box is covered with straw, with a layer of at least 10 cm. Watermelons are laid on it at intervals, turning the tail up. Between the fruits make "partitions" of straw, well cover them on top so that the berries are completely covered with straw.
The third way is in the sand
Thus, it is also possible to store fresh fruits, both in the apartment and in your own house. A box of wood is brought into a cool room and half filled with completely dried sand. Watermelons are laid down on it (if there is enough space to place them so that the fruits do not touch, then you can put several fresh berries in storage). After that everything is carefully covered with dry sand, the sand should completely cover the watermelons.
Attention! Instead of sand, you can successfully use dry grain, in dry cereals, fresh watermelons can lie and will not go bad for a very long time.
In addition to the listed technologies for storing fresh watermelons, there are several more original, one can even say exotic ways. If you have free time and desire, you can check them and surprise your guests.
The fourth way is in the water
Do not be surprised, it is written, it is true - it is to store ripe watermelons in water. Only for this it is necessarily required - water should completely cover the stored fruits and be cold, sometimes fresh watermelons are immersed in an ice hole or in a wooden tub or barrel installed in the basement and filled with cold water. But with such storage, your watermelon will become too watery.
The fifth way is in the ashes
In a private house or in the country, save wood ash from a fireplace or stove, maybe you can get ash, it will help you save watermelon until the New Year. Ash will immediately stop the development of putrefactive microorganisms and fungi, absorb excess moisture, which will save the fruits. The box, shot down from thick boards, is covered with a thick layer of wood ash, it must first be well dried. Watermelons are carefully placed on it, with gaps filled with sifted ash. The box is covered with a tight lid and placed in a basement or cellar.
The sixth way - in clay
Clay helps to save many products, why not try to save fresh watermelons with it? Clay is pre-moistened and kneaded to the consistency of a thick paste, fresh berry is well coated with this mixture. After the clay dries, the watermelon is covered several times with clay, allowing it to dry well after each coating. As a result, the fruit should be covered with a 0.5-1 cm layer. The coating obtained in this way should be completely dried, after which the prepared watermelon is transferred to a dark room where the temperature does not rise more than 8 degrees, the fruit is laid on a layer of sawdust or hung on a hook in a string bag.
The seventh method - in paraffin
As in clay, watermelon can lie in paraffin or wax for a long time. It is necessary to heat the wax and cover it with fresh berries several times. The resulting layer should be at least 1 cm, for storage such a fruit is placed in a dark room. The disadvantage of this method is that under the paraffin, the berry does not breathe and the pulp in it can ferment.
