Where and how to store homemade preparations
You can store twists for the winter in a variety of places, the main thing is to comply with the conditions and create optimal temperature and humidity levels.
Cellar
If you have the opportunity to store workpieces in the cellar, you should not miss it, since this is the most optimal place. If all important indicators are properly organized, you can leave jars of snacks there for a long time.
For further safety, the workpieces need to be provided with good ventilation and the premises should be insulated to eliminate the possibility of sudden freezing. Also, regularly, for preventive purposes, treat walls and shelves with antifungal agents so that microorganisms do not penetrate inside jars with nylon lids.
Apartment
Storing canned cucumbers in an apartment is made easier by the presence of a balcony, loggia or pantry, since in a heated room it is difficult to arrange the jars so that the snack does not spoil.
Otherwise, you can get a miniature pantry in the kitchen, placing it under the windowsill. Any kitchen cabinet into which light will not penetrate will also work.
When choosing a place to mount it, you should give preference to those where there are no heating devices nearby.
If the apartment has high humidity, place the blanks not in the kitchen, but in the bedroom under the bed to protect the covers from corrosion.
Balcony
The presence of a balcony in the apartment simplifies the storage of preparations for the winter. Even if you have a small area, if properly equipped, it will be the perfect place to store snacks. To do this, you should get a closed shelving unit to prevent sunlight from entering, and a heating device to regulate the room temperature in winter.
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Recipe for pickling bitter mushrooms at homeRead
Important! It is necessary to increase the ventilation time of the room if there is high humidity on the balcony and laundry is often dried .
How to store lightly salted cucumbers
This type of pickling is usually used in summer. Fresh vegetables are salted at an accelerated rate. It is the timing of salting that distinguishes them from ordinary pickles. The shelf life of lightly salted cucumbers in the refrigerator will depend on the recipe used for pickling.
Typically, lightly salted vegetables are kept in jars. They need to be stored in a cool place, otherwise they will quickly become simply salty. To prevent this from happening, you can use several techniques.
- To stop the pickling process and keep the cucumbers lightly salted, they are placed in a cool place. It's best if it's a cellar. If this is not possible, a refrigerator will do. The cellar also stores regular pickles well.
- When choosing a recipe, you should pay attention to what water is used for pickling. If you add hot water, it will speed up the salting process. Such vegetables will not be stored for a long time. It is better to make brine from cold water. Then the salting and storage period will increase.
- To keep vegetables in brine longer, their ends should not be cut off. When cut, they contribute to rapid salting and, as a result, a short shelf life.
- To ensure that cucumbers are salted evenly, they are selected according to size and variety. It is known that small fruits are salted faster and also quickly become over-salted. Therefore, you need to select vegetables of the same size for pickling. For example, gherkins are suitable for quick pickling, but they can be stored for a maximum of 2 days. And this is provided that it is stored on the top shelf of the refrigerator, where it is coolest.
- You can pickle cucumbers without brine or other liquids. At the first stage of salting and during storage, they should be kept in the refrigerator. Fruits of the same size are placed in the bag and salt is added. To preserve vegetables longer, add a little salt and place the bag on the top shelf of the refrigerator.
It is best to salt vegetables in small batches, then there will be no problems with their storage. But in order to make preparations in small batches, you should know how to store fresh cucumbers. Read about this in our article.
It should also be remembered that the processes of pickling and fermentation increase in direct proportion to temperature. The warmer it is, the faster the vegetables will become salty. And at lower temperatures, the fruits will absorb salt longer, but the shelf life will also increase.
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What conditions are necessary for long-term storage?
As you know, any type of homemade food for the winter requires compliance with certain conditions for its further storage.
Temperature and humidity
The optimal humidity in the room where workpieces are kept for a long time should not exceed 75%. In apartment conditions, it is difficult to regulate the room temperature; you should also focus on the method of twisting. Products in sealed packaging can be stored at a temperature of no more than 20 degrees, but for pickled, pickled or pickled cucumbers it should vary from 0 to 4.
Sub-zero temperatures can lead to irreversible consequences in the form of cracks.
Illumination
The main rule for storing twists is minimum lighting. It is worth protecting the jars from direct sunlight, the impact of which can negatively affect the quality of the snack.
Methods and options for storing various preparations
There are a large number of options for storing cucumbers for the winter, most of them are presented below.
Pickles
Pickled cucumbers can be kept in the cellar for no more than 2 years, but in an apartment the period is reduced. The main thing is to thoroughly sterilize the jars, lids and seal the preparation hermetically for the winter.
Canned in a jar
This twist should be stored indoors for no more than 3 years, if all standards are followed. A cool, dry pantry is ideal for this.
Pickles
When using this method of storing cucumbers, monitor the temperature and humidity in the room so that the brine does not sour.
Important! To prevent pickles from spoiling quickly after opening, it is more convenient to roll them in liter jars .
Lightly salted
The workpiece is not stored for long and does not require strict adherence to all conditions. In an apartment where the temperature is high, the cucumbers will be pickled quickly, after which they should be moved to the refrigerator.
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Barrel cucumbers
In a barrel, cucumbers are stored in a special fermented brine at a temperature of 0 to 1 degree. It is impossible to achieve such indicators in apartment conditions. The shelf life of the barrel product is short, since the long process of bacterial development leads to a change in the composition of the brine, as a result of which the vegetables deteriorate, losing their taste and appearance.
Storage in barrels
You can store pickled cucumbers in brine, which is formed as a result of fermentation, for a very short time. Bacteria, falling on fertile soil, completely change the chemical composition of the liquid. As a result, the pickles become soft and also acquire an unpleasant smell and taste.
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In an apartment building, it is quite difficult to find a place where barrel cucumbers would feel great. This is due to the fact that the optimal temperature regime, which allows vegetables to maintain an elastic consistency and familiar taste, should be within 0°C - +1°C.
Best before date
The shelf life of cucumbers depends on many factors, such as the method of twisting and the conditions in the storage room. It is also worth paying attention to how long you can store a sealed jar and an already opened one, since the period is significantly different.
Before opening the container
Cucumbers sealed for the winter in various ways should be used up within 1 year. But if you leave the jars for the second year, they will not differ in taste, but before use you should check for the absence of fungi and infections.
After opening the container
An open jar is susceptible to infection with fungal diseases, so keeping the product in the refrigerator for a long time is not recommended. Approximate shelf life is 2 weeks. Next, you should visually check the preservative for the presence of cloudiness and mold.
How long can canned cucumbers last?
There is a difference between the shelf life of home-canned and store-bought canned goods. Cucumbers purchased at the supermarket can be stored for three years, but if they contain little vinegar, the three-year period is reduced to two years. When buying store-bought cucumbers, compare the release date with the current date - it is better not to eat last year’s preserved cucumbers.
Never buy a bulging jar of canned cucumbers - they are extremely dangerous to your health.
It is advisable to use canned homemade cucumbers within a year, since during long-term storage they lose many useful substances and become less safe for the body. Home preserves can develop botulinum toxin, which causes poisoning, often leading to death.
How many people are sent pickled vegetables by grandmothers, aunties and relatives from villages? If you doubt the quality of the resulting preparation, boil the cucumbers for 10-15 minutes - all the toxic substances in them will be destroyed under the influence of high temperatures.
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I try to eat homemade canned cucumbers within 1 year . But there were cases when jars of 2-year-old cucumbers were eaten, and the cucumbers were just as tasty. If the production technology is followed (in industrial production according to GOST), the shelf life of cucumbers is 24 months . But imported pickled gherkins have a shelf life of 3 years. Eating cucumbers that have been standing longer becomes dangerous.
It all depends on the method of preserving cucumbers. If these are just pickled cucumbers that are rolled without vinegar, then their shelf life in a cool cellar or refrigerator is from 6 to 8 months. If these are pickled cucumbers, the marinade of which necessarily includes vinegar, then depending on its quantity, such cucumbers are stored for 1 to 2 years. In the cellar, of course, or at a low temperature. Although I personally tried a jar of cucumbers that stood in the cellar for 3 seasons - we had too many cucumbers in 2012, so we ate them in subsequent years, the last jar was eaten in the spring of 2015 - we used it for pickle.
Canned cucumbers from stores can also be stored for 2 to 3 years, but not necessarily in a cold place - you can just in a kitchen cabinet.
It’s hard to imagine a more traditional snack than pickles. In winter, they are on almost every table, because housewives prepare them in large quantities. Therefore, the question of how long to store pickled cucumbers is so relevant. Residents of multi-storey buildings who do not have the opportunity to store supplies in the cellar are looking for ways to organize the storage of pickles in their apartment. This will be discussed further.
Storing pickled cucumbers frozen
If, after opening the jar, you no longer want to eat pickles, but it’s a pity to throw them away, you can freeze the vegetables, thereby increasing their shelf life. To do this, remove all the vegetables from the jar, rinse them and dry them on a towel. After drying, place the cucumbers in a food bag and place in the freezer.
After freezing, cucumbers can only be used for cooking dishes that require heat treatment.
Tips and tricks
To extend the storage period of cucumbers in apartment conditions, you can use the following tips:
- use medium or large specimens for pickling so that they soak longer;
- use a cold fill, since hot brine shortens storage;
- Keep in mind that if you trim the ends of cucumbers, pickling will speed up and the storage period will decrease.
It is worth taking note of the recommendations of famous culinary specialists to add a few black peppercorns to the jar before twisting, which, in their opinion, significantly extends the storage of healthy cucumbers.
