Summer is the time when crispy lightly salted cucumbers occupy a special place on our tables, as they are valued for their taste and they retain that excellent aroma of fresh cucumbers. Of course, there are plenty of cooking recipes, and recently housewives have been sharing secrets for quick salting that do not affect the taste of this snack.
For many summer residents and gardeners, the time for fresh cucumbers to ripen comes in June. And then they begin to be consumed fresh, in salads, sliced, and, of course, they begin to be pickled. And despite the simplicity of their preparation, I would say that, by and large, this is a whole art. Some people like spicy cucumbers, while others, on the contrary, don’t really like a lot of spices.
Today we will look at recipes for lightly salted, crispy cucumbers at home. Hot and cold methods, cooked in a pan or in a bag. So let's get started!
How much salt do you need per 1 liter of water for lightly salted cucumbers?
In principle, everything is calculated very simply; according to the rules, we need to take one level tablespoon of coarse rock salt per liter of water. Although you need to take your own preferences into account. For example, if you like cucumbers not very salty, in this case 1/2 tablespoon will be enough.
And what else is very important! It should not be forgotten that those cucumbers that have not yet been eaten and are in brine, they continue to be salted. And as a result, every day, even if we take the standard calculation of salt per 1 liter of water, the cucumbers will salt out and become more and more salty. So there is no need to cook lightly salted cucumbers in large quantities, but it is better to prepare fresh, aromatic and tasty vegetables every day.
Recipe for quick cooking of lightly salted cucumbers in a saucepan
Ingredients:
- Cucumbers – 2 kg
- water - 1 liter
- vinegar - 0.5 teaspoon
- salt - 2 tbsp. l
- garlic and dill with umbrellas - to taste.
Cooking method:
First of all, wash the cucumbers in cold water. Then we cut off the tails on both sides and put them in water for about two hours. After which you can make cross-shaped cuts on each side so that the vegetable can be salted faster.
Next, first put some of the garlic and dill in a deep enamel pan, put cucumbers on top of them and again greens with garlic..
Now we prepare the brine and for this you need to mix water, salt and vinegar. We take enough water to cover all the cucumbers, the proportion is one liter, one tablespoon of salt. The cooking time will depend on the temperature of the brine; if you pour it hot, then the cucumbers will be ready after the fact, but if you use cold brine, then you will have to wait three days. So, in this case we choose the fast, first option.
Place a plate on top and put pressure on top. Leave for a day at room temperature. After which the lightly salted cucumbers will be ready. Eat for your health.
Classic crispy lightly salted cucumbers with cold dill
Any housewife can handle pickling lightly salted lightly salted cucumbers in a cold way, it is so simple, hassle-free and quick. However, there are several nuances, knowledge of which will help you get truly delicious lightly salted cucumbers. It is advisable to take water for salting not from the tap, but clean drinking or spring water, coarse salt, and the cucumbers themselves should be small and fresh, of any variety suitable for preservation. Add spices to the brine according to the recipe. That's probably all!
Ingredients:
- Fresh cucumbers – 2 kg.
- Clean water – 3 l.
- Coarse salt – 4 tbsp.
- Garlic – 1-2 heads.
- Coriander beans or ground – 1 tbsp.
- Horseradish (root pieces or leaves) - to taste.
- Dill - a large bunch of grains.
Cooking process:
- Pour fresh, washed cucumbers with the ends cut off with very cold, clean water until they are thoroughly soaked within 2-3 hours.
- Before salting, rinse the greens well, separate the garlic into cloves, each clove can be cut into several parts.
- You can pickle cucumbers this way either in a large enamel pan or in glass jars. Place one part of dill in umbrellas, horseradish, and garlic cloves on the bottom of the container. Sprinkle the greens with coriander seeds.
- Place all the cucumbers on top of the herbs and spices, sprinkle a little more coriander on top and cover with the remaining herbs.
- Pour water with dissolved table salt into a container with cucumbers; cucumbers and herbs should be completely filled.
- Press the saucepan with cucumbers on top with a plate and cover with a lid.
- For lightly salted salting, leave the cucumbers in the kitchen for a day, then continue pickling for another two days in a cold room or put the cucumbers in the refrigerator.
Bon appetit!
Quick recipe for lightly salted cucumbers with sugar in a bag
Ingredients:
- Cucumbers – 1 kg
- garlic - 1 head
- dill with umbrellas - 1 bunch
- salt - 1 tbsp. spoon
- sugar - 1 tsp.
Cooking method:
To make the cucumbers crispy, soak them in cold water for a couple of hours. Then finely chop the dill and garlic.
Then we take the cucumbers out of the water, cut off the ends and put them in a bag. Add salt and sugar and chopped garlic and dill.
Now take the bag and shake it so that all its contents are thoroughly mixed. Let out as much air as possible from the bag and tie it tightly. To be on the safe side, I used two bags as they are very thin.
After which we put them in the refrigerator for at least five hours. The only thing you need to do is take it out after two hours, shake it well and put it back until the required time is up. After which we take them out and devour them by both cheeks!
Pickled cucumbers in a bag
Quick lightly salted cucumbers in brine should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 5 days. After this they become very salty.
Composition of ingredients
- 1 kg of cucumbers;
- 1.5 tsp. salt;
- 20 g of fresh herbs (dill, parsley, cilantro);
- 4 garlic cloves.
Step-by-step cooking process
- Initially, you need to wash the cucumbers well and cut off both sides. Afterwards, you need to pierce them with a fork in several places, or you can simply cut them into 4 pieces lengthwise.
- Then you need to take a clean plastic bag and put the cucumbers in it.
- The greens must be finely chopped and added to the bag.
- Garlic must be passed through a press and added to the rest of the ingredients.
- It is necessary to pour salt into the bag, tie it and put it in another bag so that the juice does not leak out. The package with the contents must be shaken well so that all components are mixed. Leave on the counter for 3-4 hours, shaking occasionally to marinate.
How to cook lightly salted cucumbers in hot brine
Ingredients:
- Cucumbers – 1 kg
- garlic - 5-7 cloves
- hot pepper - 0.5 pcs
- horseradish leaves - 5 pcs
- dill - 1 bunch
- sugar - 1 tbsp. l
- salt - 1 tbsp. l
- bay leaf - 1 pc.
- black peppercorns - 7-10 pcs.
Cooking method:
At the bottom of the pan we place washed horseradish and dill leaves, half of chopped garlic, for spiciness and aroma we add half of hot pepper and place cucumbers from which the tails have been cut off on both sides.
Add black peppercorns, bay leaves, chopped garlic and cover it all with dill and horseradish leaves.
Now we are preparing the brine and for this we need one liter of boiling water, in which we dilute one tablespoon of salt and sugar. Pour the resulting liquid over the cucumbers and leave them to salt for 10-12 hours at room temperature.
And then we serve them to the table.
Lightly salted cucumbers for the winter
Lightly salted cucumbers can also be prepared for long-term storage.
The taste and aroma of the preparation will not differ from summer lightly salted cucumbers.
Composition of ingredients
To prepare the winter version of cucumbers you will need:
| Products | Selection and processing | Quantity |
| cucumbers | Choose pimply, medium-sized ones. Next, they need to be washed, the ends removed and checked for bitterness. | 1.5 kg |
| Fresh sprigs of dill | — | 20 g |
| Garlic cloves | Clean the garlic from dirt and husks and rinse. Cut into 2 parts. | 2 pcs. |
| Fresh currant leaves | — | 4 things. |
| cherry leaves | — | 4 things. |
| Horseradish leaf | Rinse and tear into 2-3 pieces with your hands. | 1 PC. |
| Peppercorns | Black. Can be replaced with fragrant. | 10 pieces. |
| Water | — | 3 l |
| Salt | Coarse crystalline. | 90 g |
| Vinegar | Canteen 9% | 4 ml |
Prepare sterilized 3 liter storage jars.
Step-by-step cooking process
Stages of blank design:
- Place garlic (1 cut clove), 10 g of dill, 2 cherry and currant leaves at the bottom of the jar.
- After this, put the cucumbers in the jar.
- Then you need to lay the remaining spices (including peppercorns) and herbs on top of the cucumbers.
- Pour water into the pan, add salt and bring the brine to a boil. After this, add vinegar and remove from heat. Stir the contents until the salt dissolves.
- Next, you need to pour the marinade over the cucumbers and immediately roll up the jars.
Store in a dark, cool place. Can be used after 1 month.
Lightly salted cucumbers will turn out crispy, aromatic and will be stored for a long time if you choose a recipe with a cold pickling method and the optimal amount of spices and salt (it is not recommended to overdo it, as the cucumbers will quickly become salty rather than lightly salted, and the aromas of the spices will overwhelm each other).
It is necessary to store the preparation in the cold (no more than a month), so the fermentation process will be slow; in a warm place, ready-made lightly salted cucumbers should be eaten within 48 hours. It is important that before pickling, cucumbers must be soaked for about 2 hours (to wash out nitrates and to better maintain elasticity), especially when preparing according to the classic recipe.
Author: Kotlyachkova Svetlana
Classic recipe for lightly salted cucumbers for a 2 liter jar
Ingredients:
- Cucumbers before filling the jar
- dill with umbrellas - 1 bunch
- garlic - 3 cloves
- coarse non-sea salt - 2 tbsp. spoons
- boiling water.
Cooking method:
The jar is not sterilized, just rinse it thoroughly and put chopped garlic and dill on the bottom.
And on top we put cucumbers thoroughly washed in water and you can put dill umbrellas on them. Add rock salt. Then fill the contents with boiling water and close with a nylon lid.
Then we take the jar by the lid and carefully twist it in different directions so that all the salt dissolves. Leave the jar until it cools completely, and only then put it in the refrigerator so that the cucumbers cool a little. This is a simple way to prepare lightly salted cucumbers.
Recipe for crispy lightly salted cucumbers in cold water
Ingredients:
- Cucumbers – 1 kg
- chili pepper - 2 pcs
- garlic - 1 head
- horseradish root - 3 pcs.
- horseradish leaves - 5 pcs
- dill - 1 bunch
- salt - 2 tbsp. spoon.
Cooking method:
Soak the cucumbers in cold water for two hours. Next, take them out and wipe them dry. Then we lay them out in layers: first a layer of spices, and on them a layer of cucumbers and in that order until the end, where we lay horseradish leaves on top of the cucumbers.
Now we make brine at the rate of 2 tablespoons per liter of water. Dissolve the salt in hot water, let it cool completely and pour the cucumbers with this brine.
Place a plate on top and press down with pressure. We put it in a cool place for two days, and then take it out and eat it.
Cold way
Lightly salted cucumbers (a classic recipe for making pickled cucumbers for the winter, can also be used for lightly salting vegetables) prepared in a cold way stand out not only with a special crunch, but also by preserving the smell of fresh fruit.
Composition of ingredients
To prepare lightly salted cucumbers using the cold method you will need:
| Ingredients | Selection and preparation | Quantity |
| cucumbers | Select pimply cucumbers no larger than 10 cm in length. Wash the fruits and exclude spoiled and bitter ones. | 2 kg |
| Dill | You will need dill umbrellas or dried seeds. | 100 g |
| Garlic cloves | The cloves need to be freed from the husk. You can also use garlic feathers. | 3-4 pcs. |
| Bulgarian pepper | Select fruits of any color, rinse and remove seeds with partitions. | 1-2 pcs. |
| Fresh currant leaves | Rinse under cool running water and let them dry. | 3-4 pcs. |
| Fresh cherry leaves | 4-5 pcs. | |
| Salt | You will need a table-sized, coarse-crystalline one. | 80-100 g |
| Water | Filtered or distilled. | 0.8-1 l |
Additionally, prepare dishes for salting cucumbers. To add sourness, you can use red currant berries (2 branches are enough). The berries need to be washed; it is not necessary to remove them from the branch.
Step-by-step cooking process
The preparation of lightly salted cucumbers consists of the following steps:
- Cut off the ends of the cucumbers and place the fruits to soak in ice water (preferably spring water) for about 1-1.5 hours. After this, remove from the water and rinse.
- Cut the garlic cloves into 4-6 pieces or slices.
- Cut the bell pepper into 4 parts.
- Then you need to pour water into the pan and bring it to a boil, remove from heat.
- Next, you need to place salt, dill seeds, 1/3 of garlic and currant and cherry leaves into boiling water. Mix the ingredients and leave the brine to cool.
- After this, you need to lay out the ingredients in layers in a container for preparing cucumbers: 1/3 garlic; 1 cut bell pepper; garlic leaves (if used); cucumbers; currants (if used); leftover garlic; remaining bell pepper; garlic leaves.
- Pour cold brine with spices over the contents. It should completely cover the contents.
- To make the cucumbers salt faster and more evenly, you need to use pressure.
If the preparation is kept warm, then cucumbers can be consumed after 2-3 days. If placed in the cold, pickled cucumbers can be served no sooner than after 20 days.
