Soaked apples are very tasty, in addition, they retain all the beneficial properties of fruits. Our grandmothers, especially in rural areas, knew this art to the fullest, but now you can see such a delicacy except on the market, among pickles of uncertain quality. And why not try to master the soaking of apples at home, even urban?
Old-old tale
The author of the article has his own memories of grandmother's delights. Late green apples grew in her garden, which by themselves were not very tasty - sour, but in a soaked form they could be eaten as much as needed. Especially for this purpose, my grandmother had a high enameled tank, on the bottom of which she laid rye straw, a few cherry leaves, a couple of currants, a layer of apples, then again straw with leaves and so on to the very top.
Her fill solution was sweet and salty. The ratio of ingredients was clarified by the author much later, when she began to independently master the soaking of apples. There are a variety of recipes, but this one is more suitable for the straw variant. 100 g are bred in a liter of cool water. malt (or 150 g. rye flour) and boil for ten minutes. Then add water (spring or boiled and cooled) to ten liters, add 100 g. salt, 200 gr. sugar, 10 gr. mustard powder. Apples are poured with this solution and kept for five to six days in a warm room, and only then transferred to a cold cellar. In this way, the watering of apples at home occurs within a month.
If there is no cellar
What to do if there are no special conditions for pickling, but you want a soaked apple? There is always a way out. And you just need to reduce the volume of the product and instead of a tank or tub use an enameled pan or glass jars. Straw, accordingly, should be excluded and limited to more affordable means - leaves of cherry, blackcurrant, horseradish, which, if necessary, can be prepared for future use, dried or frozen. The ratio in brine is about the same: for 5 liters of water - 75 g. salt, 150 gr. honey (better than sugar), 50 gr. malt or 75 gr. rye flour. On request - dry mustard (tablespoon), spices (cloves, allspice, nutmeg). As in the traditional way, leaves and apples are layered. They are poured with a solution, kept at room temperature for six days, and then on the balcony or in the refrigerator for a month. Soaking apples at home (without special conditions) is completed.
Apples in cabbage
This recipe is especially loved by many, because apples in cabbage turn out to be unusually tasty and fragrant, incorporating notes of sauerkraut, carrots and spices. The technology of soaking apples in this way is very simple. Cabbage is chopped, carrots are cut into thin strips and mixed with cabbage, the mixture is poured with salt and crumpled, as in ordinary pickling. You can add a little peppercorns black pepper, a handful of dill seeds for flavor if desired. A layer of cabbage is condensed at the bottom of the dishes, on top is a layer of apples, then cabbage again, and so on to the top. Cabbage produces juice, which is usually enough for fermentation, but you can add salt solution as needed so that the top is always covered with brine.
Soaking apples at home can be done in different ways, hundreds of recipes. In any case, it will be very tasty and healthy. The main thing is that the fruits are intact, without wormholes and scab, otherwise they will rot. Eat on health and more often remember childhood.