A succulent plant known as aloe vera has been used for its medicinal benefits for centuries. The plant’s gel can treat wounds, scratches, and other skin irritations and relieve sunburns.
Look no further than the freezer if you’re looking for a natural solution to keep your aloe vera gel fresh. Your gel will remain fresh and useable for months with this easy procedure.
You can use several methods for storing aloe vera gel. Stainless steel containers are an excellent choice, as they keep the gel from spoiling. How to Store Aloe Vera Gel without Refrigeration? Here are some tips for storing the gel without refrigeration:
- To keep your aloe vera gel fresh, purchase an ice cube tray.
- Place the tray in the freezer after adding the aloe vera gel.
- Overnight, freeze the aloe cubes.
- Transfer the cubes into a date-labeled, sealable plastic bag.
Without refrigeration, fresh aloe vera gel cannot be kept for an extended period. Due to the decomposition of the gel matrix, which starts as soon as the leaf is severed from the rest of the plant, the gel will lose a significant portion of its vital bioactive components (the components required to provide the desired benefits, whether they be medicinal or cosmetic) in just a few hours.
After only a few days of storage, the result is a deteriorated leaf – sometimes deteriorating even much faster than a mushroom kept at room temperature, and a brown-ened mess of gel that you’d never want to apply on your face or slathered across your fruit salad.
Storage Methods for Aloe Vera Gel
Whether you are storing aloe vera gel for its medicinal benefits or cosmetic purposes, you’ll want to store it properly to extend its life. It’s best to store it in an airtight container to protect it from bacteria and prevent UV light from destroying its essential compounds. You can also freeze aloe vera gel to create ice cubes for later use. This way, you can take a small amount and use it whenever possible.
Aloe vera gel with honey will last ten to fifteen days for long-term storage. Aloe vera gel infused with vitamin E can last more than a year. It can also be frozen in ice cube trays. To prepare an aloe vera gel that can be frozen, peel the leaf and slice off the base leaf. Then, cut the remaining leaves into smaller cubes.
Stainless Steel Containers Preserve Aloe Vera Gel.
As the aloe vera plant grows in hotter climates, aloe gel decomposes as soon as you cut the leaf off. This is caused by natural enzymatic reactions that damage the healthy compounds within the aloe gel. Refrigeration slows down the decomposition process and keeps aloe gel fresh for up to seven days. Stainless steel containers preserve aloe vera gel for longer.
While aloe vera gel spends most of its time in the fridge, storing it in an amber bottle will protect the beneficial compounds in the gel. Always keep your aloe vera gel in a clean container to prevent bacterial contamination. You should clean your storage container thoroughly with warm soapy water before using it. If you don’t have a stainless steel container, you can freeze the aloe vera gel in ice cubes instead.
Why shouldn’t you Store Aloe Vera Gel for a Long Time?
Aloe is a very hardy plant that thrives in arid and tropical climates. Still, as soon as you cut off a leaf from the main plant, the leaf loses all of the strength it had from its mother and becomes perishable, even though it contains some preservatives and vitamins that should normally act to extend storage.
The biological activity of the gel is greatly reduced when it is not used within six hours and is not kept in a cold environment, such as a refrigerator, due to the decomposition of the gel matrix brought on by internal enzymatic reactions and the activities of bacteria present on the leaf due to the presence of oxygen. This results in a less potent (in a good way potent) ingredient for household use.
This means that whatever benefit you had hoped to derive from the aloe vera gel would only be partially realized since the gel has largely lost its beneficial properties.
There is good news for homeowners regarding the storage of aloe gel in the home, which involves the refrigerator. The first starts the day you start refrigerating (slower than on the counter), and the second starts a week later. Even though it works, the enzymes and bacteria’s activities are only slowed down by the cold rather than completely stopped, so eventually, the goods will still be lost, and the aloe will become spoiled.
Therefore, even though aloe vera gel can last up to 7 days, it still can’t be used to wash your face or added to fruit salads to boost their nutritional value. The best gel is always the one you get from a fresh cut of aloe that you either cut from your backyard or buy from the store and use immediately.
How do you Store Aloe Vera at Room Temperature?
- Keep your composure if you can. The two factors most significantly affect aloe vera’s freshness are humidity and temperature.
- Use an airtight container.
- Use opaque containers to prevent light damage.
- Freeze the gel into ice cubes for a longer shelf life. Trim the leaf, chop the flesh into cubes, and freeze.
Can Aloe Vera Gel be Stored at Room Temperature?
When kept in its original container at room temperature, store-bought aloe vera gel will last for two to three years; when frozen or refrigerated, it will last for up to five years. Whole aloe vera leaves will only remain fresh for a couple of days at room temperature, but they should keep for up to a week in the fridge and for eight months if frozen.
How do you Store Aloe Vera After Cutting?
Keep your aloe vera leaf as fresh and moist as you can. It’s just a matter of wrapping the cut end in tin foil, tying it off with an elastic band, and placing it inside a sizable plastic shopping bag. Finally, I wrap that tightly and fasten it with another elastic band. Aloe leaves that have been cut remain fresh, in my experience, for about two weeks.
How do you Store Aloe Vera Gel Naturally?
- Keep your composure if you can. The two factors most significantly affect aloe vera’s freshness are humidity and temperature.
- Use an airtight container.
- Use opaque containers to prevent light damage.
- Freeze the gel into ice cubes for a longer shelf life. Trim the leaf, chop the flesh into cubes, and freeze.
How do you Harvest and Store Aloe Vera?
Choose thick leaves from the plant’s outer portions and remove 3–4 at a time.
- Verify that the leaves are sound and unharmed by mold or other damage.
- Trim them just above the stem.
- Don’t get near the roots.
- Wash the leaves and dry them.
- Cut the sharp edges off with a knife.
Best Way to Preserve your Aloe Vera Gel is without a Fridge
You probably already know that aloe plants’ gel-filled leaves can treat burns, cuts, and other skin irritations if you have one. While using fresh gel straight from the plant is preferable, that isn’t always possible. You can do a few things to ensure your aloe gel stays effective and fresh if you need to store it for a while.
Keeping your aloe vera gel in a cool, dark location is the best way to preserve it. The ideal would be if you had a refrigerator. However, a cool pantry or cupboard will do in that case. Just make sure it doesn’t get too cold, or the gel will start to degrade and lose its effectiveness.
Aloe gel can also be kept in the freezer if you apply it topically. This will contribute to making it last longer. Just be sure to fully defrost the gel before applying it to your skin to prevent irritation.
Whatever method you use, make sure to keep your aloe vera gel in an airtight container. This will lessen the risk of the gel drying out and losing its effectiveness.
Tips on How to Use your Preserved Aloe Vera Gel
Your preserved aloe vera gel has a variety of uses. Here are a few pieces of advice:
- Mix 1 tablespoon of gel with two tablespoons of yogurt for a quick and simple face mask. Apply to your face, then let sit for ten to fifteen minutes. Use warm water to rinse.
- Aloe vera gel can be combined with a few drops of lavender oil to make a soothing body lotion.
- To make an exfoliating scrub for your hands and feet, combine 1/4 cup of gel with 1/4 cup of sugar.
Reference: Postharvest quality response of strawberries with aloe vera coating during refrigerated storage
How to Tell if your Aloe Vera Gel has Gone Bad?
Although aloe vera gel is frequently found in skincare products, it can also be applied directly to minor cuts and burns. If you have a plant producing aloe vera, you can extract the gel and use it immediately or store it for later use.
You will need to add a preservative, such as alcohol or vitamin E oil, to aloe vera gel to keep it from spoiling. This will lessen the likelihood of the gel going bad. Aloe vera gel can be kept for up to a year in a cool, dark location.
There are a few signs to look for if you’re unsure if your aloe vera gel is still safe to use. The gel ought to be clear or barely green in hue. It has deteriorated and needs to be thrown away if it has turned brown or black. The gel’s texture should also be smooth, not watery or lumpy. It is best to discard your aloe vera gel and start over if it does not satisfy these requirements.
Conclusion
Aloe vera gel cannot be kept without refrigeration for an extended period. It will quickly deteriorate and become useless at room temperature in less than two days. Aloe gel should be used as soon as it is produced to get the most health benefits. Aloe puree should be refrigerated under airtight sealing for up to 7 days.
