15 Fall Foods That Store Well

One day last week, we went about our day.  The day’s temperature had fallen considerably from the day before.  Most of us were sporting long sleeves.  The air was filled with a crispness that is so respective of fall despite the fact that the leaves hadn’t started turning yet.  That evening, we brought in some firewood and lit a fire.  The smoky smell of the fire wafted throughout our house.  Fall is coming on, in its own slow pace, and I relish it!  Fall also brings some other blessings in the form of fruits and veggies that taste AH-Mazing and store SO WELL throughout the fall and winter months when put up properly.

We’re going to hash through several different types of foods that store well and some basics of storing them.

Squash

The first four of our easily stored items fit into the category of squash.  Included in this category is pumpkins, butternut squash, acorn squash, and spaghetti squash.

There are so many different types of squash that come into play in fall.  It’s an amazing time of year!  Okay, yes, I’ve heard all the pumpkin spice jokes, but Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without my pumpkin cheesecake.  Butternut squash soup is so creamy and D-liscious!

Squash, in general, want to be kept cool and dry.  They like a temperature of around 55 degrees.  Keep them up off the concrete floor since a concrete floor will tend to hold moisture which will rot the squash.

Some squash require a hardening as well.  Pumpkins, butternut, and spaghetti need to be set out in cold temperatures 4-5 days and then brought into the house and kept around 55 degrees.  Acorn squash should not be hardened as it will destroy the flesh of the squash.

Fruits

Apples 

When it comes to apples, storing them properly actually starts by storing apples that will keep WELL.  If you try to keep a red delicious apple for several weeks in your basement or root cellar, you will be less than pleased with the results.  There are a bunch of varieties that do store really well though including McIntosh, Fuji, Rome, and Granny Smith.  These tend to lend themselves to more tart recipes and they have thicker skin.  But for those of you, who like me, know of the amazing wonder called a Honeycrisp apple, you will be very glad to know that they also store very well.

Once you decide on a variety or varieties to store, then you need to make sure you keep them at the right temperature and moisture.  Apples generally store the best in COLD temperatures with HIGH humidity.  You should be looking at storing them around 35-39 degrees at 90-90% humidity.

Apples should be stored in a single layer.  If you really want to make sure they are properly protected, you can even wrap them in newsprint paper or paper you use to wrap breakables in when you move.  Make sure that you don’t store apples near vegetables because the vegetables give off ethylene.  Ethylene will destroy your apples, and for all the effort you are taking to store them, you don’t want to lose them.

Pears

When we start talking about storing pears, the same thing applies as applied to apples.  You need to choose the right varieties to store.  Some that store well are Anjou, Bosch, Comice, Winter Nelis, or Bartlett pears.

Getting the temperature right on pears can be somewhat tricky unless you want to store them in a fridge.  You want to keep pears right around 30 degrees.  If you go any colder, you’ll damage the pears.  If you go any warmer, they will ripen faster.  If you keep pears at the right temperature and at a high (85-90% humidity) most of your pears should last 3-5 months.  Barlett pears would last around 2-3 months at that temperature and humidity.  Make sure you are checking your pears from time to time and remove the bad ones so that the others don’t go bad too.

Chilling your pears.  For your pears to have peak taste, they like something that we haven’t seen yet.  They like to chill (out) for a while.  Bartlett pears should be left in the fridge for a minimum of 1-2 days before eating them.  Bosch, Comice, and Anjou need longer to chill.  They take 2-6 days.  So don’t eat your pears too soon, or they won’t taste near as well.

Once they’ve chilled (out) then when you are ready to eat them, they will need to sit out on the counter for a bit first to get the absolute best taste out of them.  Bartlett pears need to sit out 4-5 days before eating.  Bosch and Comice need to sit out 5-7 days, and Anjous need to hang out on your counter about 7-10 days before you eat them.

Veggies

So in researching for this article, I learned something new and kinda cool.  In our old house in Ferguson, we had an old-fashioned root cellar.  We had to go outside our house and then enter a door under the house to access it.  When you got into the root cellar, we had a *gasp* DIRT floor!  I mean who has a dirt floor in their basement any more.  Well, I learned why root cellars used to have a dirt floor.  Did you know that people used to dig up their root vegetables and replant them in their root cellars?

Yea, me either!!  I was totally dumbfounded.  So instead of getting frustrated about this dirt cellar, I could actually have made use of it!  Many of the vegetables below used to be replanted in the dirt of a root cellar to keep them good during the winter.

Potatoes

Potatoes like to be stored around 45-50 degrees at high humidity.  These are one of the vegetables that you could dig up from your outdoor garden and plant them in your dirt floor root cellar.

Harden your potatoes.  If you don’t have a dirt floor root cellar though, once you dig up your potatoes, you should place them in a single layer either on baking sheets or in boxes lined with newspaper.  They should then be covered with a dark towel (to keep out the light) and left out at temperatures between 50-60 degrees for several weeks so they can harden.

Once they are hardened, you should store potatoes in boxes with holes in the sides (for ventilation) and you can layer them with shredded paper between the layers of potatoes.  Never try to store potatoes with broken skins.  Potatoes that are properly stored can last 6-9 months

Carrots, turnips, parsnips, and beets

Carrots, turnips, and parsnips love cold temperatures and high humidity.  They should be stored at or around freezing, around 32 degrees, and they do best when packed in moist sand or sawdust.

Cabbage

Cabbage, interestingly enough, should be stored outside unless you want to stink up your house and affect the taste of celery, apples, and pears.  When you pull up your cabbages, try to uproot them so that the roots and even some of the clumps of dirt are still attached.  You can put each individual cabbage head (from which you pulled the outer leaves) into a plastic grocery bag and tie the bag closed over it.  Because cabbage stinks, clean trash cans are a great way to store them outside.

Garlic and Onions

These two vegetable prefer to be kept slightly cool and dry.  Store these vegetables around 50-60 degrees and 60-70% humidity.  Onions and garlic like to be kept dry and in the dark.  You also need great airflow.  If your garlic has it’s leaves attached, you can braid the garlic heads together and hang them.  If, however, your garlic doesn’t still have it leaves attached, garlic and onions, for that matter, can be stored in wire baskets in a dark cool room.

Sweet Potatoes

Of all the foods that we’ve talked about storing in a root cellar type setting, sweet potatoes need the warmest conditions.  They should be kept between 55-60 degrees.  They also need to either be stored in a single layer or wrapped in paper and stored in a well-ventilated laundry or another type of basket.

What About You?

Have you tried turning part of your basement into a root cellar?  Have you had any success with it?  What vegetables or fruits have you successfully stored?  I’d love to hear!  Leave a comment below and let us know.

Remember, knowledge isn’t just knowing something.  It’s living it!

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