storing veg for winter

[diver]

I now have beetroot, swede and turnips that I want to keep for the winter. I will cook some of the beets and store them in vinegar but I would really like to freeze some of these veg or store them some way so that I could use them fresh. I'm not really into making a cloch from soil as I have nowhere to put it but would love some ideas please.

[hedgewizard]

All three of these can be "root cellared" which means storing them somewhere cold with high humidity, but I'd only really do this with large roots like swede myself. Don't wash, just cut the green off except for the last two inches and pack in containers full of straw or damp sand. Swede can stay in the ground until you're ready to use it, covered in a few inches of mulch.

All three can be frozen once cooked thoroughly, but the texture suffers. A better option is to "can" them which means finishing off cooking in jars in a pressure cooker and sealing while still hot - but I'd recommend reading an article before attempting this and I've not done it myself. Yet. Drying is easy though;

To dry beetroot - remove all but an inch of top and all of roots, then cook until tender. Cool, peel, and cut into 1/4" cubes or slice thinly and dry until tough to brittle.

To dry turnips - slice and blanch for 5 mins before drying (again, goes tough to brittle)

[diver]

thanks hedgewizard...I'll give it a go