Ways to preserve arugula for the winter

Arugula is a plant that has a great taste and a lot of vitamins that our body lacks in the winter. In order for the greens to lose their useful properties for a long time, you need to know how to properly store arugula.

Storage features

The product has a rich composition, but it still remains dietary. In winter, harvested arugula will turn into an excellent source of vitamins.

You can use the plant not only as a seasoning for many dishes, but also as a drug, because it is found in many recipes of traditional medicine.

If you purchased arugula leaves for storage in the store for the winter or collected in your garden, you must immediately prepare the plant for wintering. You should not buy a lot at once, because you may not have time to make the preparation of all the beams before they spoil. We recommend to roll tails (above the cut off roots) in the food film, so the greens will lie fresh for several days longer.

Arugula bags or any other containers in which you put bunches should be on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, which is specifically designed to store vegetables and greens in it.

Glass or plastic containers prevent the ingress of cold air inside, thereby achieving the optimum temperature - 8-9 ° C.

Drying

Many consider drying as the best way to preserve arugula for the winter. Salad made from dry grass does not work, but it can be added to any dish as a spice. It is perfect for meat and fish.

Below are a few ways to dry arugula, but whatever you choose, at the end of the process you need to collect the already dried greens and put it in a glass container. In order to avoid accumulation of condensate, you can put a small bag of salt inside, which will absorb moisture.

In a natural way

First you need to select the best leaves of greenery.Wash each bundle well. Crush the leaves into small pieces of the same size. After that, you need to evenly spread them on a baking sheet or paper.

Find a place in your house that does not get the sun's rays, but is warm enough. Crushed greens are dried for about a week, the storage can be stored for 12 months.

In the dryer

For harvesting dried herbs and vegetables, there is a very convenient device - electric dryer. Processing in a special dryer allows you to save even more useful substances in products.

In some instances, there is even a special mode for greens. The temperature in it reaches 50 ° С. Despite the increased temperature, you will not be able to dry out or burn the product in an electric dryer.

In the course of drying herbs the process will last 12 hours.With this method, chop the greens is not necessary. From 2 kg of fresh grass you get 162 g of dried, that is, the weight of the product will decrease by 12 times.

In the oven

Another quicker way to prepare arugula is oven drying. In this case, you also need to wash the greens well and divide it into equal, not too small pieces.

The temperature in the oven is selected individually, depending on the number and size of the pieces. Of course, it should not be too low, but the main thing is that one should not exceed 40 ° С.

Frost

Many are interested in the question of whether it is possible to freeze arugula for the winter so that it remains useful. You can store arugula in the refrigerator either by itself or with added oil.

In pure form

Rinse the plants well before starting work. Then it is necessary to cut the arugula into equal small pieces. After that, slightly dry the arugula in order to get rid of the moisture that remained after washing.

Next, you need to pack the product in plastic bags. Make sure that they are tightly closed.You can also use simple plastic food containers. Send the blanks to the freezer where the product will be stored until winter.

Greens in oil

Before harvesting again, wash the leaves and chop well. You will need small size molds.

For example, suitable plastic or silicone forms for ice. In this container it is necessary to sort the chopped greens so that approximately one third of the volume remains.

All prepared molds are filled with oil. Olive is considered to be more useful, but any other vegetable oil that you like will do. Do not fill the form to the brim - the liquid will expand slightly when cooled and take up the remaining space.

Fresh Arugula on the windowsill

If you prefer to eat only fresh bunches of greenery, then you can try to grow rocket on your windowsill.

For this you need to purchase seeds in the store. For the growth of arugula will suit any soil mixture that you find. It can be grown on the windowsill in the summer and in winter.But in a cold and dark time it is necessary to highlight a plant with additional light sources. Now you know how to save arugula for the winter, and will be provided with an excellent source of vitamins at any time of the year. Choose the right method for you and include greens in your winter diet.