In order to be able to crunch a pickled cucumber in the cold season, many housewives try to prepare as many vegetable preparations as possible for the winter in the fall. I do not lag behind them either. The cucumbers I cook are not only very tasty and crispy, but also contain a lethal dose of nutrients. Cold salting of fruits allows me to achieve such a result, which does not require pasteurization and does not take a lot of energy.
Advantages of cold cooking pickles
I prefer cold salting for many reasons:
- in the finished snack, a maximum of vitamins and other usefulness is preserved due to the fact that cold water is used for pouring vegetables, not boiling marinade;
- pickled cucumbers prepared according to this method are stored longer than pasteurized preparations (up to 2 years).
- to close the cans, reusable nylon caps are applicable, not metal ones, and you do not need to use a seaming machine.
The lids used to close the jars of cold pickled cucumbers, I must wash them in water with the addition of soda, and then immerse them in boiling water for 20 seconds. Thanks to this technique, they become softer and allow you to close the container with cucumbers hermetically.
The only drawback of this method of cooking pickles is that the process is quite long. It lasts for 20-28 days.
What cucumbers are suitable for pickling in this way
To prepare pickles using this method, I take cucumbers with the following characteristics:
- dense;
- thin-skinned;
- pimply;
- elastic, not overripe;
- no signs of spoilage and damage;
- medium size;
- recently removed from the garden (it is better not to use cucumbers that have been stale or stored in the refrigerator).
Fruits placed in one container must be of the same size. This is the key to their uniform salting.
I usually salt cucumbers of the Nezhinsky variety. Good for cold salting and varieties like Courage, Rodnichka, Favorite, Avangard.
How to cook pickles
Of the many recipes for cold pickling cucumbers, I prefer a few. They are time-tested and have never let me down.
For the perfect pickles, I use medium grind cooking salt. An iodized product is not suitable for this purpose. It is better to take water not from the tap, but filtered.
Grandma's recipe (traditional)
To prepare this vegetable preparation for the winter, I take a set of products, consisting of:
- cucumbers - 1.3 kg;
- horseradish leaves - 2 pcs.;
- oak, currant and cherry leaves - 2 pcs.;
- dill umbrellas - 2 pcs.;
- garlic cloves - 2 pcs.;
- hot pepper - 1/3 of the pod;
- salt - 2 tbsp. l. (with a slide).
I prepare this vegetable appetizer step by step:
- Fruits, leaves, my dill umbrellas.
- I pour cucumbers with water and leave them to soak for half an hour.
- I remove the husk from the garlic cloves. I cut them into slices.
- I cut the pepper into thin rings.
- Filling the jar with horseradish leaves. On top of them I spread the rest of the dill leaves and umbrellas.
- I continue to fill the jar with cucumbers, interspersed with pepper rings and garlic slices. I place the fruits vertically in the jar.
- Fill the container with vegetables halfway with water.
- I prepare a saline solution from water (100 ml) and salt. I pour it into the jar and add some more clean water to it so that the liquid will fill the vessel to the top.
- I close the jar with a hot nylon lid.
Cucumber recipe in its own juice
To prepare a cold snack according to this recipe, I have to stock up on the following ingredients:
- beautiful cucumbers of the same size - 1.5 kg;
- substandard cucumbers (overripe, crooked, large, different varieties) - 1 kg;
- garlic cloves - 6 pcs .;
- horseradish leaves - 4 pcs.;
- black and allspice - 5 peas each;
- dill umbrellas - 2 pcs.;
- bay leaf - 2 pcs.;
- cloves - 3 pcs.;
- salt - 3 tbsp. l. (with a large slide).
I cook cucumbers for the winter like this:
- I wash the substandard fruits in water, chop them arbitrarily. I fill the blender bowl with them. Grind the cucumber slices into gruel. I put it in a bowl, add salt. I leave it for 30 minutes. During this time, the cucumber mass will let out the juice.
- I fill the jar layer by layer with leaves, spices, dill umbrellas, cucumber and whole cucumbers. I add the remaining cucumber juice to the container with vegetables, cover its contents with a sheet of horseradish.
- I close the jar with a lid. I put it in the cold.
Cucumber recipe "like from a barrel"
For the preparation of salted cucumbers, which taste like barrel cucumbers, I take the following products:
- cucumbers - 2 kg;
- garlic cloves - 4 pcs.;
- horseradish leaf - 1 pc .;
- dill umbrella - 1 pc.;
- allspice peas - 6 pcs.;
- salt - 2 tbsp. l. (with a slide);
- water - 1.5 liters.
I cook pickles according to this recipe, following this sequence of actions:
- Wash vegetables and herbs thoroughly in running water.
- I peel the garlic cloves.
- I put peppercorns with peeled garlic cloves in a jar.
- I fill the container with cucumbers, placing them vertically in it.
- I cover the contents of the jar with a sheet of horseradish and a dill umbrella.
- I pour salt into a vessel filled with vegetables. I pour water to the top. It should be cold.
- I close the jar with a hot nylon lid. I leave the workpiece in a cool, dark place.
How to store pickles so they don't go bad
I keep the cucumbers obtained by the method of cold salting in the cellar. You can leave such vegetable preparations in any dark place where it is cool enough (for example, it can be a dry basement, a drawer or cabinet on the balcony, a refrigerator).
It is impossible to keep them warm at home - the cucumbers will quickly deteriorate.
If you create optimal storage conditions for cucumber pickles, then it will be suitable for consumption without loss of taste and crunch within 2 years.
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#pickling cucumbers#recipes#preparation for the winter