STORAGE OF FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND FLORISTS' STOCKS 29 



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, 96). 



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 pro- 

 vision is made for rapid cooling until the product reaches the 

 freezing point. 



Nuts 



(Temperature, 32° to 45° 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 usu- 

 ally held in ordinary warehouse storage through the winter follow- 

 ing harvest. The portion of th'e 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- 

 factorily in warehouse storage during the winter, but that portion to 

 be held over summer should be stored at 32° before warm weather. 

 Brazil nuts should be carefully inspected before being accepted for 

 storage to see that they are well dried out, or cured. Walnuts, filberts, 

 and almonds usually need not be stored below 40° to 45°. Chestnuts 

 are rarely held in any other way than in cold storage at 32° to 40°. 



Shelled and unshelled peanuts can be held at common warehouse 

 temperature during the winter, but during spring and summer shelled 

 peanuts should be kept in cold storage both for protection against 

 insects and to prevent development of rancidity. If cold storage is 

 not available, common storage can be used, but the peanuts should be 

 stored in the shell and shelled out as needed, because if stored shelled 

 they are likely to darken and become rancid. In common storage care 

 should be taken to prevent infestation by insects. Fumigation is de- 

 sirable for both shelled and unshelled peanuts if they are to be held 

 in common storage during the summer for any considerable time. 



As all varieties of nuts keep better unshelled than shelled, it is 

 usually the best practice to store nuts in the shell and crack them as 

 needed unless the kernels can be sealed in vacuum, which will permit 

 them to be kept even longer than in the shell. Generally nut kernels 

 should be stored at 32° F. 



