STORAGE OF FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND FLORISTS' STOCKS 25 



Dried Fruits 



(Temperature and relative humidity, see text) 



For the preservation of natural color in storage, cut dried fruits 

 and dried berries that are not subject to sugaring are held at 26° F. 

 with no humidity control, or at 32° with a relative humidity of 70 

 to 75 percent. 



Figs and prunes are best stored at 40° to 45° F. The relative hu- 

 midity should not be over 70 to 75 percent, to prevent excessive ab- 

 sorption of moisture. Dried apples, apricots, and peaches keep best 

 at 26° to 32°. Raisins should oe stored at 40° to 45° and require a 

 relative humidity of 50 to 60 percent to keep them from absorbing 

 moisture. The holding of dried fruit in high humidity at tempera- 

 tures above 32° is likely to result in mold. The dried fruits men- 

 tioned can be kept in marketable condition for 9 to 12 months at 

 the temperatures and humidities specified. 



Dried fruit can be tightly stacked, without stripping, in large solid 

 blocks in storage rooms without injurious effect, and this method of 

 handling the packages minimizes the absorption of moisture from the 

 storage-room air. When nonventilated packages, such as those used 

 for dried fruit and dates, are removed from cold rooms, the sweating 

 that results occurs mostly on the outside of the package and the 

 moisture can be prevented from penetrating into the fruit by allowing 

 the packages to warm up before they are opened (6). 



Frozen Fruits and Vegetables 



(Temperature, see text) 



Frozen fruits should be held at - 10° to 0° F. if they are to be 

 stored for several months. 



For the freezing of fruits a temperature of 0° F. or lower is de- 

 sirable for both small containers and barrels. If freezing takes place 

 too slowly the same undesirable conditions may develop that are en- 

 countered if the fruit is stored at too high a temperature after being 

 frozen (17,18,83). 



For best results frozen fruits should be held in airtight containers. 



The best temperature for freezing vegetables is from —10° to —5° 

 F. For storage after freezing —10° to 0° is satisfactory if ample 

 provision is made for rapid cooling until the product reaches the 

 freezing point. 



Nuts 



(Temperature. 32° to 50° F. ; relative humidity, 65 to 75 percent) 



Most of the commercial nut crop, including walnuts of all kinds, 

 filberts, almonds, Brazil nuts, peanuts, and sometimes pecans, is 

 usually held in ordinary warehouse storage through the winter follow- 

 ing harvest. The portion of the crop (except pecans) that is to be 

 kept through the following summer should be placed in cold storage 

 early in March. Pecans become stale and rancid much sooner than 

 most other kinds of nuts, and it is safer to put them in cold storage at 

 32° F. shortly after harvest. Brazil nuts can usually be kept satis- 



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