Do Napa Cabbages Go Bad?

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Napa cabbage originates near the Beijing region in China. In most parts of the world, Napa Cabbage is called Chinese cabbage. Napa cabbage belongs to the family of cabbage. Napa cabbage tastes mildly aromatic. Napa cabbage has a good amount of calcium and is rich in vitamin C. Napa cabbage contains more minerals and vitamins than other common cabbage.

Napa cabbage protects us from cancers. It is full of nutrients. Yes, just like we know, other fruits and vegetables turn bad. Similarly, Napa cabbage has a short shelf life, and it turns bad as well. Following are the ways to protect it from spoiling earlier.

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How to store Napa cabbage?

Continue reading this article to know the right and easy way to store Napa cabbage for a long time. Storing Napa cabbage is just like as you preserve other vegetables, but you must add some steps. It is not very hard to enhance the shelf life of this cabbage as it was pretty much similar to other regular cabbage we use. Following are the tips you should opt for if you plan about storing Napa Cabbage.

Remove the damaged leaves

After you bring the cabbage home, it is necessary to remove the damaged leaves from the cabbage. If you don’t remove them, it may increase the risk of spoiling. If you don’t trash away from the bad leaves, the risk of mold formation increases, and as a result, the cabbage gets spoiled soon. So make sure to remove the bad or wilted leaves from the cabbage.

It is recommended for health purposes. Sometimes insects damage the outer leaves, but this doesn’t make the inner ones bad, too, so remove the outer insect-damaged leaves before storing Napa cabbage.

Away from heat

Whether fruit or a vegetable, you should always store it away from heat sources like an oven. Heat increases the rate of deterioration. Napa cabbage requires a cool temperature for better shelf-life; otherwise, it ends up turning bad. Always avoid keeping it somewhere exposing to excessive heat or sunlight. Keep Napa cabbage at a cool temperature to enhance its shelf life.

Refrigerate it

Refrigerate Napa cabbage. It is the best thing to store it for a long time and to extend its shelf life. You can store Napa cabbage in the crisper drawer. The crisper drawer of your fridge tends to extend the shelf life of vegetables and keeps the vegetable fresh and healthy. It is ideal to refrigerate Napa cabbage. Please keep it in a plastic sealed bag in your refrigerator.

Can you freeze Napa cabbage?

Yes, you can store Napa cabbage in the freezer. You can freeze Napa cabbage. You can also freeze it raw, but you know that you have to blanch the vegetable first for a better experience of shelf life.

For freezing Napa cabbage, you have to adopt the right ways. For freezing, first, cut it into wedges. You can also separate the leaves. After blanching the wedge of Napa cabbage, you can freeze it.

Blanched vegetable tends to have a longer shelf life when frozen compared to the one which isn’t blanched. Blanch the wedges for ninety seconds and then put the Napa cabbage into the freezer. Frozen Napa cabbage has a longer shelf life.

How long does Napa cabbage last?

Napa cabbage stays well for almost a week and has not long shelf life. However, we can extend the life of our vegetables if we preserve them precisely.

Providing favorable conditions to your cabbage makes it live for a longer period. Once frozen, it stays well for months. It would help if you placed Napa cabbage away from heat and always provide them in favorable conditions to last for a long time.

You can also refrigerate Napa cabbage. Napa cabbage stays healthy and well for a couple of weeks in your fridge. It is better to consume it within three days, but then put it in the refrigerator or freezer if you can’t.

Use plastic sealed bags to store Napa cabbage in your fridge. You can also place this cabbage in the crisper drawer. The shelf life of Napa is extended to a great extent when stored in the freezer. In contrast, your fridge also maximizes the shelf life of Napa cabbage but not as much as freezing does.

How to tell if Napa cabbage is bad?

If you face any difficulty figuring out that your cabbage is still good to be eaten or not, there is no need to panic about it. This article will provide you information regarding that. Some of the common signs are mentioned below cabbage shows when deteriorating.

If you notice any change in the color of your Napa cabbage, you better not try to consume it.
Napa cabbage smells bad when it turns bad. so if it smells bad, discard it
Anything off about the appearance? Mold formation can also cause your cabbage to rot. In case of mold formation, you should toss such cabbage.