Recipes for pickling cucumbers are very similar to each other. The differences are only in the number of main components and in spices. Heavily salted, lightly salted, medium salted - they all turn out to be very tasty. The main thing is to know which varieties of cucumbers for salting to use.
Sorted out the grades
All cucumbers can be divided into three categories. Each of them has its own characteristics. So there are:
- Lettuce Cucumbers. They are usually used exclusively in fresh form. They differ in small white spikes on a plump and smooth skin. The brine does not penetrate well into such vegetables. The color of cucumbers of this variety can be from white to dark green. When canned, they turn out to be tasteless and soft.
- Small in size, pickling. The peel of vegetables of such varieties is quite dense. They can be eaten both fresh and pickled. However, similar varieties of cucumbers are ideal for pickling. They are crispy, hard and very tasty.
- Universal varieties. These include almost all hybrids of the latest generation. Such cucumbers can be consumed fresh, and also used for pickling.
Which ones to choose
The following varieties have proven themselves best:
- Era.
- Altai.
- Sugar
- Voronezh.
- Nosovsky.
- Gorgeous F.
- Stage.
- Fontanel.
- Vyaznikovsky.
- Coastal, etc.
The only drawback of these varieties is the rapid yellowing of the fruits. However, problems can be avoided by timely harvesting.
If you forgot which variety was grown, you can determine the fruits suitable for salting in appearance. For preservation, cucumbers with a dark green peel are ideal. Overripe and yellow should immediately set aside. The peel and seeds of these vegetables will be hard even after salting.
The thorns in the fruit can be white or black. It depends on the variety. For conservation, it is worth using cucumbers with black spikes, since they pass the brine well.
Thin-skinned vegetables will not crunch after salting. If it is difficult to pierce with a fingernail, then such cucumbers are ideal for preparing blanks for the winter.
What you should know about
Recipes for pickling cucumbers are very diverse. However, to get a tasty snack, you should adhere to certain rules:
- It is recommended to salt cucumbers on the same day when the crop was harvested.
- Before salting, vegetables should be sorted based on their size. Large is recommended to marinate separately from small.
- Do not use soft, damaged, or discolored fruits for salting.
- It is forbidden to use chlorinated water during the preparation process.
- To get rid of possible bitterness, it is recommended to soak the cucumbers for about 8 hours. In this case, the water should be changed every 60 minutes.
- If you are going to salt vegetables in jars, carefully prepare the containers: wash them and sterilize them.
- There are many recipes for pickling cucumbers. However, when choosing spices, it is better to give preference to leaves of currant, cherry and oak. They will give the fruit the taste of barrel cucumbers.
- Also in the container you can put green grapes or leaves of the vineyard. This will avoid the formation of voids inside the vegetables.
- Store pickles is recommended at zero temperature.
What spices to choose
Salting cucumbers for the winter in barrels or in jars requires the addition of certain spices. At the moment, there are a great many such components. How many spices are required for a three-liter jar? So for reference:
- black pepper - 10 peas;
- hot pepper - not more than 0.5 pod;
- bay leaf - 2 pcs.;
- dill - 2 umbrellas;
- blackcurrant - 2 leaves;
- garlic - up to 6 cloves;
- cherry - up to 3 leaves;
- horseradish root - not more than 6 cm;
- grapes - 1 leaf;
- oak - up to 3 leaves.
In addition to the above spices, for a slow or quick pickling of cucumbers, you can use savory, mint, basil and tarragon. The choice of components depends on your preference.
Salting Methods
Before proceeding to the description of recipes for pickling cucumbers, it is worth mentioning the basic methods. There are only two of them: hot and cold. Each of these methods has its own characteristics. In this case, completely different containers can be used: buckets, barrels, cans, large-necked bottles, etc.
As you can see, there are not so many ways to pickle cucumbers. However, spices can give vegetables a certain taste and aroma. Let's look at a few recipes so you can choose the right one.
Hot Way: Option 1
Salting cucumbers in jars allows you to stock up on a delicious snack for the winter. For cooking, it is worth choosing spices. At the bottom of the containers lay the leaves of cherry, oak or currant, and then lay out the vegetables tightly. It is best to place the banks vertically. The top layer of cucumbers can be laid horizontally. Gaps can also be filled with selected spices.
Prepared cucumbers pour boiling water. Cover the containers with sterilized lids and wrap them. You can use a towel for this. Wait about 3 minutes, and then drain the water. To do this, use a plastic cover with holes or gauze folded in several layers.
Repeat the manipulation. This time drain the water after 5 minutes, and then fill the brine. It should be prepared in advance. To do this, it is necessary to dissolve the salt in water, observing the proportions: 1 liter of water requires 30 to 35 g of table salt. Roll up the jars, turn them upside down and refrigerate by placing them in a cool room.
Second option
Fill the containers as described in the previous recipe. Pour boiling brine over the cucumbers. In this form, leave the vegetables for a day in a room where the air temperature is + 25 ... + 30 ° C. After that, place the blanks for 8 days in a cooler place. Here the air temperature should be no more than 10 ˚. A cellar or basement is ideal.
When the cucumbers become crispy and tasty, drain the brine into the pan, wash and sterilize the jars. Put cucumbers in them, adding new spices. Pour boiling brine, roll up, turn upside down and refrigerate by placing containers in a cool place.
It is interesting! Cucumber pickle can be used as a medicine for a hangover, as well as for the preparation of pickle and hodgepodge. After all, it contains many minerals.
Cold pickling cucumbers
To prepare snacks, put prepared spices and vegetables in jars. Fill containers to the brim with cold brine. For its preparation, it is necessary to dissolve table salt in water, observing the proportions: 1 liter of water requires from 50 to 60 g of salt. At the same time, you should adhere to some rules. Dissolve the salt in a small amount of hot water, and then add ice water.
If you wish, you can sprinkle the cucumbers with mustard powder. Cover the containers with gauze and leave at a temperature of + 25 ... + 30 ° C for several days. After that, you can transfer the cucumbers to a cooler place. The temperature should be 1-5˚ below. Store containers with vegetables in such conditions for 10-12 days.
It is important! If you place the product in a warmer place, voids form inside the vegetables. Fermentation will proceed more slowly in a cool room. At the same time, the gases released during salting will not burst the cucumbers.
Be sure to check the availability of the product from time to time. When the fermentation process is completed, bring the brine volume to the original one, tightly close the containers, but do not roll them up. It is recommended to store the workpiece at a temperature of +4 ˚ or lower.
Cucumbers in a barrel
Salted cucumbers are always popular. After all, they perfectly complement some dishes. Traditionally, cucumbers are salted in barrels made of oak. However, you can use plastic containers. To give the product a characteristic aroma and taste, it is enough to add oak leaves in the preparation of brine. It is also recommended to pre-grate the barrel with garlic, and then lay prepared cucumbers in layers on it.
Now it’s worth preparing the brine. At the same time, all proportions should be strictly observed. For 10 liters of water (not chlorinated), 900 g of table salt will be required.
After cooking, pour the brine into a barrel. Do this through the tongue and groove hole. When salting vegetables in an open way, it is recommended to cover the workpiece with a cloth, put the lid on top and press it down with pressure. For about 20 hours, the container should stand in a room where the air temperature is at least 20 ° C. After that, rearrange the barrel with cucumbers in a cooler place. Here the air temperature should not exceed + 1˚. After a month, the snack will be ready.
It is interesting! To prevent cucumbers from starting to mold, you can use sugar beets or mustard powder. If it still appeared, then it is necessary to remove plaque from the surface of the cucumber pickle.
Recipe with Vodka
So, how to cook light-salted cucumbers at home? Consider a popular and original recipe. To prepare you will need:
- 2 kg of cucumbers;
- several dill umbrellas;
- 5 leaves of black currant;
- 5 leaves of cherry;
- 1 clove of garlic;
- 20 g of horseradish (leaf or root);
- 8 peas of black pepper;
- 75 g of salt;
- 50 g of vodka;
- 1.5 liters of water (not chlorinated).
Wash the vegetables well and pour over boiling water. Soak the prepared cucumbers in ice water for several hours. Put them tightly in a three-liter jar. In this case, shift the cucumbers with prepared spices. Dissolve 50 g of salt in 1 liter of water. Pour the prepared brine into the jar. Add 50 g of vodka here. Close the jar tightly with a polyethylene lid.
Transfer the workpiece to the basement or refrigerate. Such a snack is stored for a long time. At the same time, cucumbers retain their natural color.