Today I want to share with you the nuances of salting and my favorite recipes for making a winter snack from selected cucumbers with citric acid, which can be used as an alternative to the usual vinegar. Citric acid helps to preserve the freshness of pickles and ensures a long shelf life without losing the taste of the product. Plus, recipes with citric acid will appeal to those who don't like the aftertaste of vinegar.
What is the role of citric acid in winter snacks
As I already said, citric acid can easily replace such a traditional component as vinegar. Just one teaspoon of citric acid is able to preserve the attractive transparent appearance of the brine and give the cucumbers the coveted crunch. I consider neutral taste to be the main positive feature of such an ingredient.
There are two ways to add citric acid:
- directly into the jars, before pouring the marinade over the vegetables;
- while the marinade is boiling. In this case, the marinade must be boiled for 60 seconds.
Citric acid has a long-lasting antibacterial effect, which means you don't have to worry about mold growing in cans or lids.
Pickled cucumbers with spices
In this recipe, we use our favorite spicy herbs, you can choose them to your taste. And let's add some mustard seeds.
So, for cooking we need:
- selected fresh cucumbers, it is better to take not too large ones;
- 4 cloves of garlic;
- a teaspoon of citric acid;
- dill umbrellas;
- parsley and bay leaves;
- caraway;
- peppercorns and allspice;
- a tablespoon of ordinary salt;
- 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar;
- a teaspoon of mustard seeds in each can.
Cooking:
- We wash the cucumbers thoroughly and send them to soak in cold water. It is necessary to keep vegetables for four hours.
- Rinse the cucumbers again and cut off the tails on both sides.
- Cut the garlic slices into plates.
- Sterilize glass jars and boil lids.
- Put chopped garlic, allspice, caraway seeds and parsley on the bottom of the jars.
- We begin to lay vegetables. The cucumbers should fit fairly tightly in the jar. Put the garlic in the resulting intervals.
- Put the dill umbrella with the top layer and fill in the mustard seed.
- Pour boiling water over the jars and let stand for fifteen minutes.
- We drain the water back, add salt, granulated sugar, bay leaves and peppercorns. Stir several times and wait until the mixture boils.
- After boiling, boil for a couple of minutes.
- Pour citric acid into jars and immediately pour hot marinade.
- We roll up the cans hermetically, turn them upside down, cover them with a warm cloth and send them to cool.
I recommend adjusting the amount of sugar in the recipe to your taste.
Spicy cucumbers for the winter
This recipe will appeal to those who like a rich, spicy taste with a clear pungency.
From the products we need:
- cucumbers - 1 kg;
- garlic - 5 cloves;
- bow - 1 medium head;
- citric acid - a teaspoon;
- hot pepper - 1 piece;
- peppercorns and ground (one teaspoon is enough for the second);
- ordinary salt - 2 tablespoons;
- granulated sugar - a tablespoon;
- an aspirin tablet (I add, but this is not essential);
- water - 1 liter.
Cooking:
- Wash the cucumbers thoroughly and soak for at least three hours.
- If the skin is too tough, you can cut it off.
- Finely chop the garlic.
- Cut hot pepper into thin slices.
- Cut the onion into half rings.
- We prepare and sterilize glass jars.
- Line the bottom of the jars with garlic, a little onion and peppercorns.
- We lay cucumbers, and in the intervals between them onions and hot peppers.
- Pour boiling water over the jars and leave for seven minutes.
- We pour the water into a saucepan, add salt, granulated sugar and ground pepper, let the mixture boil.
- Pour citric acid and crushed aspirin into the jars (if used).
- We fill the jars with hot marinade. We pour in carefully, it's not worth it in a hurry.
- Cover and sterilize for at least ten minutes.
- Finally, we roll up the cans and leave for a couple of days, previously wrapped in a warm cloth.
Read also: Let's figure out whether it is worth leaving the polycarbonate greenhouse open in winter or not.
Friends, do not forget to subscribe to the channel and LIKE if the article is useful!
#pickles#recipes#preparations for the winter