How to save arugula for the winter

Arugula is a type of spicy herb that has an interesting mustard and nutty flavor and is used as an additive to appetizers, salads and also in first courses. If you know all the rules for preparing arugula for the winter and harvest it, then you can enjoy the green leaves of arugula, while retaining all its useful properties. Arugula is also called mustard herb and is considered a medicinal herb that is loaded with minerals and vitamins that help treat many diseases. For example, regular use of arugula helps to improve food metabolism, strengthen the immune system, as well as restore the elasticity of blood vessels and increase hemoglobin in the blood.

However, arugula can also negatively affect the human body. For example, it can cause an allergic reaction in a person or negatively contribute to the body of a person who has kidney disease. Also, experts say that pregnant women should not eat arugula, as this can harm the unborn child.

Arugula for the winter: storage features

If we take into account the peculiarities of preparing a culture for the winter period of time, then in the cold season it will be possible not to exclude healthy greens from ordinary food. At the same time, experts clarify that there is no need to make a large number of arugula blanks for the winter, since some of them may deteriorate if you do not have time to eat them in time. So, in order for arugula to be stored in the cold season as long as possible, you must follow all the rules for harvesting.

Arugula, given that it must be placed in a container and refrigerated, retains its freshness for 10 days. The most important condition in this process is that the arugula cannot interact with any air in any way, therefore it is necessary to place the culture in plastic-based bags or plastic-based containers. However, in order for the plant to be able to please you in winter, you need to use other storage methods in order to preserve all the beneficial properties of arugula.

The whole culture called arugula differs in that it remotely resembles the culture of lettuce, since the lower leaves are very reminiscent of lettuce leaves gathered in bunches, and the upper leaves, which are puffed on arugula, also resemble salad in their structure. Of course, there are a large number of different varieties of culture, since they all differ in the shape of their leaves, their fluffiness and density. Also, the culture can acquire various colorful shades during its ripening, this also depends on the variety that you decide to plant. Well, the taste of the culture will vary greatly depending on the varieties; greens can be sweet, bitter, sour, with a slight taste, reminiscent of honey taste. In terms of the degree of ripening, arugula can also differ in its varieties, since it can refer to both early ripening and late growing crops, and to crops that occupy something in between in terms of their growth.

The variety called Cupid's Arrow is popular for its taste. Also, this culture can reach as much as thirty centimeters in height and a similar plant is very similar in its leaves to a dandelion. The next variety of olivietta, like Cupid's arrow, belongs to those varieties of arugula, which occupies an average position in the ripening of greens.Its only taste does not differ in particular sweetness, but, on the contrary, has a slight bitterness of aftertaste. The height of such greenery can reach a height of about fifteen centimeters, but there are sprouts with a height of about twenty centimeters. The next rocket variety is distinguished by its rapidity of maturation, which occurs approximately twenty or twenty two days after planting the seeds in the ground. And the height of such a sprout can reach only twenty centimeters. This variety also differs in that it can be added to any kind of dish, as the nutty aftertaste will make it into a culinary masterpiece.

Arugula for the winter: how to save

There are enough ways to save arugula for the winter, and each of the methods has its own individual characteristics, so there is an opportunity to try not only one of the methods, but all at once.

Arugula for the winter: in order to preserve the fresh leaves of the plant, after you have cut them, you must put them in water. If you plan to leave them in the kitchen for the convenience of cooking, in such a case and under these conditions the plant will retain its freshness for five days. If you wish to extend their shelf life, it is recommended to put the arugula leaves in water and in the refrigerator.

In order to preserve the arugula leaves for a long period of time, to use them, for example, in salads and other light meals, it is recommended to use the following instructions. First, you need to select good leaves from not very healthy ones, that is, such leaves should be healthy, resilient and green, of course. The arugula should then be rinsed in cool water to remove any bullet, dirt, and other dirt on the plant. At the next stage, it is necessary to spread the washed arugula leaves on a paper towel and leave for a while so that the plant gives off excess moisture and it evaporates. Then, you need to put the leaves of the plant in a container, for example, a glass jar, and pour salt into the container, in the proportion of one tablespoon of salt per hundred grams of product. Then you need to mix everything and cover with a lid. Subsequently, after interaction and arugula with salt, some of the beneficial trace elements of the plant will decrease, one other part will remain the same, like fresh leaves. In this way, the culture can be stored for even one year, while jars with leaves must be kept in a cold room, that is, either in the refrigerator, or in the cellar, or in the basement.

The next method, which is also popular among the methods of storing arugula for the winter, is to dry the product while storing it for the winter. This method involves the evaporation of all excess moisture from the leaves of the plant, which makes it possible to store arugula for a long period of time. With this method, it is also possible to use the dry plant as a spice for fish and meat dishes. There are a number of ways to dry crops for the winter. The first is the natural method in which the leaves of greenery are used, since after washing them and partially drying them, these leaves are crushed. Then the chopped arugula leaves are laid out on a baking sheet on prepared dry paper, for example, a newspaper. This is necessary so that the plant sap does not come into contact with the metal in any way, otherwise the oxidative process begins to occur. Also, in order to prevent this, experts recommend not using a knife when crushing the leaves of the product, but resorting to the usual tearing of the leaves with your hands. After we have laid out the crushed leaves on a baking sheet, it is necessary to take the prepared baking sheet into a warm room, taking into account the condition that any moisture and direct rays of the sun should not fall on the greens.If all the necessary features of drying the product are observed, the evaporation of moisture from the leaves of arugula will occur for at least a week, but such a prepared arugula will have the opportunity to change its shelf life to one year.

You can also dry this plant and prepare it for storage in winter using a dryer. It is called an electric dryer and is mainly used for drying vegetables, fruits and various types of greens. With this method of drying, the leaves of the plant are saturated with useful elements. You also need to take into account that many models of electric dryers have a "green" function, which is a facilitating feature in the process, so all drying parameters will be set automatically. The high temperature of the electric dryer will not damage the arugula leaves or spoil the product. Such drying can last for 12 hours, while it is not necessary to grind the arugula leaves, you can also dry the whole leaves of the plant. After such processing of the culture in an electric dryer, all moisture from the leaves evaporates, while the mass of the greens of the product itself decreases, that is, the drying process in an electric dryer is an effective way of preparing a culture for the winter period.

The next way to dry arugula is to dry the product in the oven. This method, of course, has its advantages, for example, the drying time here is half that of an electric dryer. Before the procedure for direct drying of greens, it is also necessary to rinse and, if necessary, grind the leaves of the plant. The choice of temperature in the oven depends on the size of the arugula leaves and the amount on the baking sheet. Despite the fact that this is all individual, the maximum temperature when drying greens in the oven should not exceed forty degrees Celsius. Also, experts do not recommend drying the arugula leaves at a very low temperature and for the evenness of the drying process, it is necessary to spread the arugula leaves in one layer on a baking sheet.

If, nevertheless, arugula greens must be used for food in the next four or five days, then after washing the arugula leaves, they are torn into equal pieces and left to dry to get rid of excess moisture, for this the leaves are left on a clean dry towel. After the leaves have dried, they must be packaged in bags and closed so that air does not get into the bag. Experts point out that it is possible to pack not only in bags, but also in other containers, provided that complete tightness is observed. Then the packaged sealed containers are put into the refrigerator and the required amount of greens is taken out as needed.

How to store arugula

One of the ways to store arugula is to harvest herbs in jars. This method is very convenient in the event that you store arugula in the kitchen, that is, if dried herbs are stored in the jar. If the arugula is salted, then it must be stored in the refrigerator.

Freezing arugula is also an equally common way of storing greens. In addition, modern appliances, refrigerators and freezers, have sufficient equipment for freezing greens and do not deprive them of all their useful properties. With this method, arugula leaves are stored not only in their pure form, but it is also possible to mix the plant with other different herbs to taste. For the convenience of freezing, arugula must be chopped, but experts note that this can be omitted. Chopped arugula leaves are useful for any dish that needs fresh arugula.

The next way to store arugula is to prepare herbs in oil. For this process, you need to prepare sunflower, olive or butter. These ingredients work very well together. The preparation of such a blank is carried out as follows.It is necessary to grind the arugula as much as possible, then you need to fold the chopped leaves into compact forms for ice in the freezer, and pour the required amount of oil of your choice on top, and then put this consistency in the freezer. Then the ready-made frozen cubes are left in place or are removed in portioned bags. If you do not have molds, you can use plastic trays, in which you also need to put the consistency and leave to freeze, after which you can eventually take out and cut the necessary mass of harvested greens for yourself.

In order to store arugula in the refrigerator, it is necessary to put it in such a way that it interacts with air as little as possible, that is, so that the greens are tightly closed. To do this, you must use foil, plastic bags, cling film, a vacuum container, bowls and other containers with water. If you resort to storage in bags, then tightness conditions are necessary. Under these conditions, the culture can be kept fresh for three or five days. When stored in plastic containers, arugula will last from six days to two weeks and must be completely sealed.

There is another way to store arugula: it is in a bowl and must be periodically sprinkled with water, and also not placed next to other products. In this case, experts advise storing as much greenery as you need for the next three days, so it can quickly become unusable. The remaining amount of greens is hidden in the freezer or resort to the drying method. In order to store arugula in the freezer, the following conditions must be observed: do not store the greens in the open form next to other products, comply with the tightness conditions, pre-put the plant in bags so that the greens retain their previous appearance and collect extraneous odors. At the same time, before storing arugula in the freezer, it is necessary to dry the greens from excess moisture, which can spoil the structure of the plant, change its color and generally negatively affect the state of the greens and their shelf life.

Despite the above tips for storing arugula for the winter, experts give the following recommendations: fresh arugula should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than three or four days, since after the culture may lose its most useful properties; if drying was applied to the arugula, then it must be periodically checked for pests; if you took frozen arugula out of the freezer once, then further freezing is contraindicated, as the greens will deteriorate.

So, the process of storing arugula for the winter requires a special baggage of knowledge about the peculiarities of harvesting it for the winter period of time.At the same time, experts say, if you spend some time on the correct process of harvesting arugula, then you can use both dried and frozen during the next year arugula, retaining all its beneficial properties.