How can you tell if the cauliflower has gone bad?

Cauliflower is very popular with followers of healthy eating. It is a treasure trove of vitamins. Now you can buy it in stores all year round and in fresh and frozen form. But the harvest of this vegetable falls at the very end of summer, so you need to watch carefully to avoid getting a spoiled product.

Signs of spoiled cauliflower

You can tell that the vegetable in front of you is not quite fresh by its appearance or smell.

1. If the cauliflower is sluggish and its leaves do not hold their shape, you can not preserve such a product. It should be consumed on the same day.
2. Dark spots on the surface will tell you that the cabbage has begun to spoil. It is worth to cut it and carefully inspect it. If only a small area is affected, you can cut it off and eat the vegetable as soon as possible.
3. Mucus and fungal plaque unequivocally say that the product should be disposed of.
4. Without regret, the vegetable should also be thrown out if the cauliflower gives off an odor of rotting.
5. Roasted, boiled or stewed vegetable in improper storage becomes sticky, begins to smell unpleasant. Such a product should not be eaten.

Symptoms of poisoning and first aid

Eating spoiled cauliflower can cause poisoning. To understand whether it was caused by an excess of nitrates or by the poor quality of the vegetable itself is possible only in the hospital. The symptoms are very similar to those of other food poisonings:

1. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea appear.
2. The stomach begins to bloat, spasmodic pain in the stomach area may be felt.
3. Blood pressure drops, consciousness becomes confused, and fever rises.
4. Skin becomes pale and seizures may occur.

At the first signs of poisoning, you should call an ambulance and begin to flush the stomach yourself. This will help to remove some of the toxins from the body.

How and how long to store cabbage

Fresh

Store fresh cauliflower in the refrigerator. To do this, remove the outer leaves and wrap each cauliflower in paper. Place them in the vegetable compartment so that they do not touch each other. Periodically they should be checked. In this form, the cabbage is stored for up to 30 days.

If you freeze the vegetables, the period of use of the vegetables increases to 9 months. They should be divided into florets and portioned out in bags.

Cooked

A dish of cauliflower should be sure to put in the refrigerator and eat it within 2-3 days.

In canned form, the product is stored at 0 ° C up to one year.