Saving root vegetables in winter, ways to cook them

A friend stopped by with a gift of four different winter squashes — a pie pumpkin, a butternut, a kabocha and a yellow spaghetti squash. Cooking for one meant I had enough vegetables for many meals here.

However, how long could I keep them to get the best use of them?

I know that our foremothers saved such vegetables to stave off starvation in the winter months. What did it take to preserve freshness?

A bit of research, added to my experience, helped. They had to rely on a root cellar or dig a deep hole. We, who have modern homes and refrigerators, have it easier. Most stored vegetables need a relative humidity that is over 90 percent. This can be difficult to offer as many also need good airflow. A few, such as pumpkins, garlic, onions, dried beans and dried peppers, prefer humidity in the 60-70 percent range. Winter squashes are best kept at just over 70 percent.

Temperature needs to be considered also. You can come close to freezing but not below 32 degrees. Interestingly, the vegetables that like a bit higher humidity also like to be stored at a slightly warmer temperature.

Sweet potatoes like 55 degrees and 90-percent humidity.

The root vegetables that store the best and longest are beets, carrots, celeriac, turnips, daikon radish, potatoes and parsnips. Most can be saved for anywhere from two to seven months.

Onions need either a mesh bag or loosely woven basket for best results and air flow. Potatoes should be stored in paper or baskets, never plastic, as their starch turns to sugar easily. Darkness is important for potatoes also, or they’ll turn green and that becomes toxic. However, if you should have any green hues on your potato skins it can easily be peeled away. No worries.

Cabbages, leeks and celery keep for one-three months. If the top layer of leaves becomes slimy or discolored, they can easily be pulled away and discarded, revealing fresh leaves. No need to waste the good parts. Sometimes my carrots begin to sprout hair roots, but again, a peeler makes short work of restoring them. Check your stored veggies often to keep them at their best.

Some vegetables are sensitive to ethylene, a natural hormone found in plants. The best producers of ethylene are many fruits which ripen after picking, like avocados, apples, apricots, pears, melons and bananas. These should be kept away from the sensitive vegetables in storage to ward off spoilage. Some of the most sensitive are sweet potatoes, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, corn, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, broccoli and cauliflower.

Now I suppose you’re wondering what I did with my gift of squash?

I roasted the pumpkin and kabocha after cutting in half and removing seeds. Just enough olive oil to prevent sticking. When flesh was soft, I scooped it out, mashed it and made a curried squash bisque with shallots, one potato (for smoothness), diced celery and water.

My seasonings were sweet curry powder, herbed salt, sumac powder, bay leaves and ground pepper. Here I could have used chicken or veggie broth. Sage or thyme would be good accents also. This is where the cook gets to make it their own.

I still have two squashes to go. For the spaghetti squash, I’ll roast like above and then take a fork and draw it down the tender but firm flesh, making “spaghetti.” You can eat as is or add tomato sauce, butter and fresh herbs, or perhaps a creamy hollandaise type of sauce. Perhaps with Parmesan?

The butternut is also in reserve for a future bisque or mashed side vegetable, perhaps roasted with other root vegetables.

I often make pickled or Harvard beets in winter. Beets can be wrapped in foil and roasted or boiled in a saucepan of water. Slip skins off by rubbing when fully cooked and cooled. For the Harvard beets, make a slurry of corn starch and apple cider vinegar and add to sweetened cooking liquid, with salt and pepper. Beets are sliced or cubed first. I usually use sugar to sweeten but maple syrup might add a dimension worthy of this elite dish. Season to your own tastes.

For pickled beets, I slice the cooked vegetable into diluted cider vinegar, adding sugar to sweeten, and salt and pepper. I also like to add sliced sweet onions to the mix. I have never added hardboiled, peeled eggs, but I know that is a crowd pleaser, too. Be sure your liquid covers all.

So much of the above produce offers excellent nutrition. Vitamin A in the orange-colored types. Beets offer anthocyanin which is an antioxidant that wards off inflammation. Cabbage offers vitamin C and K as well as minor elements and fiber.

You can see why our predecessors worked so hard to offer these in winter. Perhaps with instinctual knowledge, they kept the family healthy all season by providing well.