An integral attribute of any feast is salted crispy cucumbers. There are a lot of recipes for salting green vegetables for the winter. Especially popular: spicy, with gooseberries, mustard seeds, etc. Unfortunately, with all the variety of ways to get pickles with a unique taste, aroma and, most importantly, crunch, not every housewife will succeed.
How to roll cucumbers to be crispy? Despite its apparent simplicity, this procedure has many subtleties and “pitfalls”, which many neglect. The crunch and firmness of a popular Russian snack largely depends on the correct selection of vegetables. Consider the tricks of this dish in more detail.
How to choose cucumbers for seaming?
The fruit should be freshly picked, strong and juicy. Sluggish and soft grades after processing will not give the expected crunch. Some varieties will not tolerate long-term storage.
Agronomists divide all varieties suitable for growth into the following types:
- salad;
- pickling;
- universal.
It is not difficult to guess that the former are intended exclusively for fresh consumption. Their thick peel misses the marinade poorly. In the case of universal, it is clear that they are suitable for any purpose - and pickling, and adding to salads. And only the pickling variety will give the long-awaited crunch and unsurpassed taste. The best seaming view recognized "Nezhinsky."
Characteristic differences
Fruits are convenient to distinguish among themselves in appearance. Salad has an elongated shape, light spikes (in universal and pickling they are dark). For cucumbers, ideally suited for pickling, the skin is peeled off without the application of force - just a slight pressure on the nail. The best candidates for canning are smooth, oblong fruits without deformation, damage, uncharacteristic spots.
Talking about how to make cucumbers crisp for the winter, you need to sort them by size:
- Pikuli are the smallest, up to 3-5 centimeters.
- Gherkins are medium, reaching 9 centimeters in length.
- Zelentsy - large (9-14 centimeters).
Each group has its own methods for rolling crispy and sweet cucumbers. In the classic version, vegetables ranging in size from 7 to 12 centimeters are considered ideal for consumption in the winter.
Recommendations for choosing dishes
Starting to salting, you need to decide on the container for storing the product. If you plan the option of salting without a twist, you will have to stock up on glass jars with a volume of 3 liters, buckets enameled for 10 liters.
Modern housewives use cans of different sizes from half a liter to 3 liters to pickle cucumbers.
Should I use plastic dishes? Barrels and containers of universal material will come to the rescue if there is no standard type of container at hand. Plastic barrels will make a worthy alternative to oak. They are not so expensive and the taste of the main product does not spoil.
Ordinary recipe for crispy cucumbers
The described recipe for rolling crispy cucumbers for the winter cannot be called ordinary. It was not copied from the culinary directory or borrowed from the master class of the chef of a trendy restaurant. Its author is a simple village grandmother who grows cucumbers in her own garden and responsibly rolls them for a large family.
Ingredient preparation
The most delicious cucumbers are hand-grown on a personal plot. Market ones will do. In order to decompose vegetables in jars as compactly as possible, the bulk of them should have an average size and only 25-30% small to fill the upper part of the container.
Green fruits are soaked in a basin for 30-45 minutes and rinsed several times under running water.
How to roll cucumbers to be crispy? Choose the right greens! According to the prescription you will need (per 1 jar):
- Leaves of cherry - 5 pieces.
- Dill umbrella - 2 pieces.
- Garlic - 4 large cloves.
- Horseradish leaf - 1 piece.
- Horseradish root - 2-3 shavings.
The main ingredient responsible for the crunch is oak leaves. It is unlikely to be able to buy them on the market, so you have to look for it yourself. It is this green component that will give the cucumbers a unique crunch and will not let you go limp during long-term storage.
Cooking brine
The taste of the finished product largely depends on the quality of the brine. In a pan with cold water, lower a bunch of cherry branches, dill stems and horseradish leaves. When the water boils, add 2 tablespoons of salt and half less sugar (per liter of water). At the end - 25 grams of ground red pepper. The brine should boil for a quarter of an hour. Set a saucepan with clean water nearby, bring to a boil.
Can filling
To roll crispy cucumbers on a 3-liter jar, it is not necessary to sterilize it. It is enough to process with hot water, pay special attention to the neck. When the containers dry, a bunch of spices, which was discussed above, is laid on the bottom. Further, the jar is densely packed with cucumbers. To fit more vegetables, at the bottom there are large fruits vertically, and smaller ones closer to the neck.
Now the jar of cucumbers must be poured with boiling water for 10 minutes. This is a kind of sterilization of both the container and the products inside it. Guaranteed to get rid of germs.
Drain the water, add pepper bitter peas - 5-8 pieces, 2 tablets of aspirin, table vinegar - 40 grams per jar. Such natural preservatives will help vegetables to be stored for a long time without loss of taste.
The next step in rolling crispy cucumbers for the winter is to fill the brine. Tighten the cans, leave in a dark place, wait for complete cooling. Previously turn upside down and cover with a warm blanket. Store the finished snack in a place protected from sunlight. The cellar, pantry, etc. are great.
Cold salting with vodka
The original way to pickle cucumbers to achieve an appetizing crunch involves the use of fresh, strong, small-sized fruits.
Additional ingredients:
- Brine - 2 tablespoons of table salt per liter of pure water.
- Cherry leaves - 2 pieces per liter.
- Dill umbrella - 1 piece per liter.
- A celery stalk - 1 piece per liter.
- Greens thyme, tarragon - a couple of twigs per liter.
- Vodka (40%) - 2 tablespoons per liter.
Cooking recommendations
How to pickle cucumbers to be crispy? First of all, take care of the quality of water. If it goes through several levels of purification, boiling is not required. Dissolve the salt.
Wash the vegetables thoroughly, put them on a paper towel so that the glass is excess liquid. Put spices on the bottom of the cans, previously washed and dried. Cucumbers are laid out on them, tightly pressed to each other. For ease of work, the bank is recommended to keep it at an angle of 45 degrees.
Pour the brine. The liquid should completely cover the green fruits. Add the required amount of vodka.
Banks can be closed with two types of lids - ordinary plastic or twist-off. Send for a month to a dark, cool place.
Pickles followed by canning for the winter
A simple recipe will allow you to enjoy the spicy taste of vegetables before the onset of the first cold weather. The best masters of culinary art answer the question of how to properly roll cucumbers so that they crackle.
The first thing to do is pick the right ingredients. Cucumbers should be about the same size - 6-8 centimeters with underdeveloped seeds (so the taste of the finished snack will be more tender).
A bouquet of spices will be made up of leaves of cherry, currant, oak, horseradish - on a jar (3 liters) each of 4-5 pieces. Peppers, a few cloves of garlic and a pod of hot pepper are also here.
To prepare the pour 40 grams of salt must be dissolved in a liter of water.
Cold pickling
How to roll cucumbers to be crispy? Banks should be washed thoroughly, if necessary, carry out the sterilization procedure. All leaves, pods and cloves should not have signs of developing rotting, disease or pest damage. Twigs separated from each other, cloves without peel and seedless pods are washed in several waters and temporarily deposited.
Cucumbers are laid in a dense layer in a prepared container, followed by a layer of spices, then again cucumbers, again spices and so on to the neck.
When rolling crisps on a 3-liter jar, it is necessary to properly prepare and pickle. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of salt in a liter of cold water. Pour the cucumbers with the resulting liquid, cover with gauze folded in several layers, leave to start the fermentation processes for three days at a temperature of 20-22 degrees.
After the specified time, try one vegetable. If a saturated, slightly salted taste is felt, the fermentation process should be interrupted. The brine is drained, the cucumbers are washed, the herbs and spices are thrown away.
It is important not to miss this moment. The taste should be gentle, the fruits should not be fully salted. Only in this case in winter will they have an inimitable taste, optimal strength and everyone’s favorite crunch.
To roll crisp cucumbers for the winter, as for the first time, you will have to prepare a set of fresh leaves and spices. Return the cucumbers to the jars washed clean, boil the collected brine, pour into the jars, close with sterile lids, wrap with a towel. Soak for 10-15 minutes, drain the hot brine. To prevent spices and leaves from falling out, you can put on a special rubber cover with small holes on the throat. If one is not available on the farm, gauze can be used.
Bring the brine a second time, send by banks. Now you can start rolling. It is advisable to cool the preservation as quickly as possible and store in a dark, well-ventilated place.
Hot way
The technique described below will allow you to roll up delicious crispy cucumbers, as in the previous recipe, with only minor technological adjustments.
To prepare the brine, edible salt is not diluted in cold water, but in boiling water. Hot liquid is immediately poured into jars filled with green fruits and spices. The containers close and stay warm for 2-3 days. When the waiting period has come to an end, the brine merges, and then the method of action is similar to the cold method.
Having opened a can of such a snack in winter, you will be pleasantly surprised by the taste - salted cucumbers with a delicate taste and fresh crunch will not leave anyone indifferent!
Pickling cucumbers without cans and barrels
The progress of the chemical industry from year to year supplies the kitchen with useful devices. One of the latest was the package insert. An inexpensive roomy device in terms of performance is not inferior to plastic and glass, and in some respects significantly surpasses them.
How to roll cucumbers so that they are crispy in the package insert? First, prepare a brine - 700 grams of salt per 10 liters of water. There are also several buds of cloves, grains of allspice, garlic and horseradish. Boil the mixture for 10-15 minutes. Cool to a temperature of 38-40 degrees. Strain into a clean container through cheesecloth.
Carefully washed cucumbers pour the resulting brine. Maintain at room temperature for a week, covering with an ordinary lid. After that, put together the edges of the package insert, remove excess air, and tie the free edge tightly with twine or a thin rope.
Vegetables will be ready to eat after a month. Keep them in a cool place.
Useful Tips
In the preparation of brine should be used only rock salt. Otherwise, the jar may explode or the cucumbers get an unpleasant sour taste.
Everything that is planned to be pledged in a jar should be thoroughly washed. This will save the brine from unforeseen fermentation and prevent spoilage of the main product.
Glass jars for sterilization must be sent to a cold oven. So they warm up evenly, do not burst and do not explode.
To prevent damage to glass containers, the addition of several mustard seeds to the brine will help.
Oak bark will help to add crunch and not spoil the natural taste - a small piece is enough to maintain the primary elasticity of the vegetable.
In order for green fruits to be saturated with brine faster, it is recommended to trim their tails and make a few small punctures with a fork.
Be sure to sterilize the covers. Fifteen minutes of boiling in pure metal is sufficient, thoroughly wash and nylon and scald on all sides.