How to Store Toona sinensis Shoots for Long-Lasting Freshness

Fresh Toona sinensis shoots are graded by thickness, length and color, placed in plastic bags or paper bags, and kept in a cool, ventilated place or in the refrigerator, with the bag opening opened once a day for ventilation, keeping them fresh for 10-20 days.

1. Short-term fresh-keeping storage methods

1. Harvesting and preservative treatment: for Toona sinensis shoots intended for short-term fresh keeping, choose to harvest on a sunny morning, when the temperature of the vegetable is low, which is good for preservation. Shortly before harvest, spray the leaves with 50×10-6 of 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA), and harvest immediately after the solution dries.

2. Bag storage. After harvesting Toona sinensis, grade by thickness, length and color, tie every 500 grams into a small bundle (not too tight), place in plastic bags or paper bags, and keep in a cool, ventilated place or in the refrigerator, opening the bag once a day for ventilation, keeping them fresh for 10-20 days.

2. Long-term fresh-keeping storage methods. Note that experiments have shown that blanching and quick-freezing can keep Toona sinensis shoots for more than 1 year, with basically no change in flavor and quality when eaten.

The process flow for quick-freezing Toona sinensis shoots: washing→blanching→cooling→bagging→quick-freezing.

Washing: take tender Toona sinensis shoots that are purple-red, 10-15 cm long and not yet lignified, and wash them with clean water to remove dust, soil and the like. Be careful not to rub or knead during washing, so as not to damage the tissue.

Blanching: use 0.2% sodium bicarbonate as the blanching solution, and blanch the Toona sinensis shoots in the boiling blanching solution for 30 seconds.

Cooling: after blanching is finished, immediately place them into sodium bisulfite solution to cool. To speed up cooling, multiple containers can be used to hold the cooling liquid for graduated cooling.

Bagging: drain the cooled Toona sinensis shoots, and put them into plastic bags at 0.5 kg per bag, with the heads and tails arranged neatly, and fold the bag opening.

Quick-freezing: immediately place the packaged Toona sinensis shoots in a freezer and quick-freeze for 24 hours, then transfer to storage at -18℃. During quick-frozen storage, frequently check the flavor, quality and color changes of the Toona sinensis shoots in the bags, so as to sell or handle them in time.