Every good housewife has a little book in which she writes down her favorite recipes for all kinds of pickles. And among them there is definitely a recipe for pickling cucumbers, and more than one. More recently, almost every family kept pickles for the winter, especially if a rich harvest was carefully grown at the dacha in the summer.
Nowadays, pickled and pickled cucumbers can be bought in the store at any time of the year, and for many it is even easier, but the store-bought product does not always meet all our tastes, and the quality is sometimes poor. It is enough to take a jar of cucumbers from the store shelf and read the ingredients to doubt their acceptable quality and taste. Sometimes preservatives are used and excess acid is used so that the jar does not deteriorate even after several years.
It is much more pleasant to prepare pickles for the winter in jars yourself and know for sure that they are fresh, grown without harmful fertilizers and taste exactly the way you like.
But recipes are not the most important thing in this matter; you also need to be able to choose the right gherkins for pickles.
- Choosing the right cucumbers for pickling
- How to pickle cucumbers in jars for the winter
- Cold method of pickling cucumbers for the winter
- Simple pickling of cucumbers with mustard
- How to pickle cucumbers with carrot tops
- A simple way to pickle cucumbers for the winter with vodka
- How to pickle cucumbers with citric acid
- Crispy pickles for the winter in jars - video recipe
Choosing the right cucumbers for pickling
How greatly mistaken are those who think that there is nothing easier than pickling cucumbers for the winter. After all, not all cucumbers are suitable for this. The possibility of using gherkins for pickling for the winter can be determined by a number of signs:
- according to the timing of fruit ripening;
- by peel color;
- by the color of the thorns;
- to size.
Fruits of late-ripening varieties with dark green skin are suitable for pickling for the winter. It is worth paying attention to the color of the thorns and the presence of pimples. The fruits of most late-ripening varieties are covered with frequent pimples with black spines. Fruits up to 10 cm long are conveniently placed in jars. It is better to discard overripe, overgrown and yellowed gherkins.
Cucumbers are prepared for the winter not only in salted form, but also in pickled form. They differ:
- taste;
- a set of ingredients;
- method of preparation.
Pickled cucumbers are poured with hot marinade, which contains vinegar.
Description of preparation:
For those who prefer to eat salted rather than pickled cucumbers, I want to offer a recipe for how to pickle cucumbers without seaming.
A very simple cooking method that does not require complex steaming or sterilization. You put the cucumbers in a jar with spices, added salt and water, and after a few days you are already enjoying the incomparable taste of lightly salted cucumbers. And if you want salty ones, you will need to wait a few more days. For pickling, take cucumbers that are elastic, not very large and without damage. Salt should be regular, without additives. These cucumbers go well with any porridge, and can also be added to salads instead of pickled ones. Let's begin! Purpose: For lunch / Outdoors / Healthy lunch Main ingredient: Vegetables / Cucumber Dish: Preparations / Pickling Diet: Pregnant and lactating
How to pickle cucumbers in jars for the winter
Glass containers, replacing wooden barrels, have successfully taken their place in cellars and basements. Today, cucumbers are salted for the winter only in jars. This allows you to prepare pickles according to different recipes. Making pickling in jars is much more convenient. There is no need to steam them, just wash them well. Depending on the size of the cucumbers, you can pickle them in glass containers of different sizes and do it hot or cold. Cover the workpieces with plastic lids or roll them up with metal ones.
Cold method of pickling cucumbers for the winter
Cold pickling of cucumbers has been time-tested. With this method, the basis of preservation is a large amount of salt, and the flavoring additives are fresh herbs and dried spices. The simplest and most popular additives usually grow in our gardens. These include dill umbrellas, horseradish leaves, and leaves from currant or raspberry bushes. Plus we add onions and garlic to them, then the pickles will be aromatic and piquant.
For a three-liter jar you will need:
- 2 kg of cucumbers (large ones are also suitable);
- 2 liters of clean water;
- 2 tbsp. l. salt (rock);
- black currant leaves;
- dill inflorescences;
- 4-5 garlic cloves;
- horseradish leaf;
- tarragon.
Sequencing:
1. Wash the gherkins collected from the beds thoroughly and rinse in clean water.
2. Wash and dry the three-liter container. Sterilize the jars in a way convenient for you so that the product can be stored longer.
3. Also thoroughly wash the dill, tarragon, currant and horseradish leaves.
4. Place all the seasoning on the bottom of the container, dividing equally between the jars.
5. Now you can fill the jar with gherkins. Stack them tightly to accommodate as many whole cucumbers as possible.
6. Dissolve salt in a bowl or saucepan with water. Pour the brine over the gherkins, not adding a little to the edge. Cover the jar with a lid and leave it to ferment in the room.
7. The foam that will form during fermentation must be removed periodically.
8. On the third day of fermentation, add water and roll up the jar with an iron can or close with a plastic lid. Place it in a basement, balcony or closet for storage. The place should be cool enough.
Pickled and crispy cucumbers - a simple recipe for a 3-liter jar
Here is a recipe for hot pickling cucumbers right in a jar and under a plastic lid. These cucumbers taste no different from barrel cucumbers. The recipe is time-tested.
Ingredients (for a 3-liter jar):
- Cucumbers – 1.5 kg.
- Salt – 3 tbsp. l. (with a slide).
- Horseradish leaf – 1 pc.
- Dill umbrellas – 2 pcs.
- Currant leaf – 2 pcs.
- Cherry leaf – 2 pcs.
- Tarragon – 1 sprig.
- Garlic – 5 cloves.
- Hot pepper to taste.
Cooking process:
- For pickling, choose small, strong cucumbers, but not salad varieties.
- Wash the cucumbers and cover with cold water for 4 hours. After this time, remove the ends of the cucumbers on both sides and wash the vegetables again.
- Then you need to prepare all the necessary spices for pickling.
- Rinse the greens, preferably fresh and not limp, well with running water.
- Peel the garlic.
- It is advisable to leave only the petioles of the horseradish leaves, as they give the crispy taste to pickles.
- You can also use dill stems for pickles. They will give more flavor to the preparation.
- Place these prepared spices in a jar.
- From the specified amount of water and coarse salt, cook the brine and cool it slightly.
- Place the cucumbers tightly and nicely in a clean jar. Place tarragon, dill umbrella and a piece of hot pepper to taste on top.
- Pour boiled brine over the cucumbers.
- You can immediately pour the required amount of salt into the jar and pour cold water over the cucumbers.
- Place the jar of cucumbers on a bowl and leave for 3 days at normal home temperature for the fermentation process. During this time, foam will appear on the surface of the jar, this is how it should be.
- After 3 days, pour the brine into a saucepan, cook it over medium heat for 2-3 minutes and pour it over the cucumbers in the jar.
- Close the jar with a plastic lid and store in a cool place.
Bon appetit!
Simple pickling of cucumbers with mustard
A very interesting and unusual way of pickling cucumbers is pickling with mustard. In addition to the fact that mustard will add a spicy taste to pickled cucumbers, the reliability of canning will also increase, all thanks to the disinfectant properties of mustard. The easiest way to pickle is to use mustard powder, which is easy to buy in the store. You should not use mustard in the form of a sauce for pickling, especially sweet mustard or with additives. What you need is classic Russian hot mustard.
For pickling this recipe you will need:
- 10 kg of small cucumbers;
- 150 g mustard powder;
- 5 liters of clean water;
- 350 g rock salt;
- 2 goals young garlic;
- 4-5 dill umbrellas;
- 10 cherry leaves;
- 2-3 young leaves of horseradish;
- 4-5 bay leaves;
- 10 peas of allspice.
Sequencing:
1. Place the cucumbers collected from the beds the day before in a large basin, fill with cold water and leave for 2-3 hours.
2. Don’t waste your time, pour water for pickling into a large saucepan.
3. Dissolve salt in water and boil it. Cool the brine and strain it through 2 layers of gauze.
4. Wash the jars using dishwashing detergent. Rinse thoroughly and turn them upside down. One and a half liter glass containers are considered the most optimal.
5. Peel the garlic, wash all the leaves and dry slightly.
6. Time has passed unnoticed, it’s time to take the cucumbers out of the water and at the same time wash them thoroughly.
7. Rinse the cucumbers with clean water and let it drain.
8. Now you can start putting them in jars.
9. In each glass container, place a small piece of horseradish leaf, a dill inflorescence, and a couple of cherry leaves.
10. Place cucumbers in jars. Place allspice and garlic between them.
11. Pour 1 tablespoon of mustard powder into each container and fill it up to the neck with brine.
12. Place plastic lids in boiling water for 10-15 seconds. Hot “bathing” will not only sterilize them, but also soften them for a short time. After which they will seal the jars hermetically.
13. Take the finished preserves for storage. Before use, pickled cucumbers must stand in jars for at least a month. The larger the jar and the larger the cucumbers, the longer they need to brew to be completely salted.
How to prepare brine for pickled cucumbers
- Water from a spring, well or distilled is ideal for marinade. If you don’t have one, regular filtered tap water will do.
- Iodized or sea salt is not suitable for preservation - it softens the vegetables. Take only table grade, coarsely ground.
- The taste of cucumbers depends very much on the spices. Dill, basil, cherry, horseradish, and currant leaves are added to the marinade for crunch. Cloves, garlic, coriander, nutmeg, chili, and saffron will add a piquant taste.
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How to pickle cucumbers with carrot tops
When choosing this recipe, you need to keep in mind that this is one of the options for pickling cucumbers for a fairly long time. It will take a lot of time to completely extract essential oils from carrot leaves. So cucumbers will become truly delicious just in time for the New Year holidays.
For pickling in a three-liter jar you will need:
- 2 kg of cucumbers (even large ones are possible);
- 2 liters of filtered water;
- 2 tbsp. l. rock salt;
- 7 tbsp. l. sand;
- 4 sprigs of carrot tops;
- a piece of celery stalk;
- 3-4 black currant leaves;
- a pair of dill inflorescences;
- 2-3 cloves of garlic;
- 200 g table vinegar.
Sequencing:
1. Place the cucumbers collected from the beds in a large bowl of cold water and leave for several hours.
2. Meanwhile, thoroughly wash and dry the glass container. It is advisable to sterilize the jars and cool them.
3. Wash the carrot branches, celery, dill and currant leaves.
4. When removing the cucumbers from the water, wash them with a brush and cut off the “butts”.
5. Now you can fill the jar with them. But first, add the carrot greens and celery.
6. Fill the jars with cucumbers. Place garlic between them.
7. Heat water in a saucepan to boiling water. Pour it into the filled container, cover with a lid and let the cucumbers warm up for 20 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, pour filtered water into a saucepan, add currant leaves, dill and boil for 5 minutes. Then remove all additives from the broth, add salt and sugar, let the liquid boil, pour in vinegar and immediately turn off the stove.
9. Empty the jar of cucumbers from the water and fill it with brine. Immediately screw on the metal lid.
10. Cover the workpiece with a warm blanket; when the cucumbers change color, store them.
A simple way to pickle cucumbers for the winter with vodka
The alcohol content in preservation will not affect the taste, but will significantly increase the storage time. The presence of 1-2% vodka in the marinade allows you to avoid the use of vinegar.
For three 1 liter jars. you will need:
- 2-3 kg of cucumbers (depending on size);
- 1.5 liters of clean water;
- 2 tbsp. l. vodka;
- 3 tbsp. l. (without top) rock salt;
- 2 goals young garlic;
- 5 dill umbrellas;
- 6-7 currant leaves;
- 10 pcs cloves;
- allspice.
Sequencing:
1. Place sorted cucumbers in cold water to make them more elastic.
2. Wash the jars with dishwashing detergent. Rinse thoroughly and roast in the oven.
3. Peel the garlic, wash the leaves and umbrellas of the dill.
4. It’s time to take the cucumbers out of the water, at the same time trim the ends and wash them thoroughly.
5. Pour water over them and wait until it drains.
6. Place garlic, cloves and pepper in each container.
7. Fill the jars tightly with greens.
8. In a saucepan, boil a decoction of currant leaves and dill inflorescences. Dissolve the salt in the broth and strain it through 2 layers of gauze. Fill the filled containers up to the neck with hot brine.
9. After 20-25 minutes, pour the broth back into the saucepan, let it boil, pour in vodka and turn off the fire.
10. Pour the hot marinade over the preparations and immediately screw them on with metal lids.
11. Cover the jars with a warm blanket, and after 6-8 hours store them in a cool place.
Hot pickling of cucumbers with mustard in a 3 liter jar
In this recipe, we will pickle vegetables using the double-pouring method. First, fill them with cold water, and then with hot brine. The result is a very crispy and tasty snack that will last for more than a year. But no matter how much I cook it, it lasts until the next harvest - it’s eaten very quickly.
And it’s easy to prepare – see for yourself!
What we need:
- Pickling cucumbers
- Dill umbrellas
- Horseradish leaves
- Leaves of oak, currant, grape and cherry optional
- Mustard beans
- Salt – 2 tbsp. per liter of water
Cooking process:
Be sure to soak the greens in cold water. Freshly harvested crops can be left for 1 hour, and daily or more - at least 2 hours.
Then we rinse them thoroughly, remove the dry tails and lay them on a towel to get rid of moisture.
Wash three-liter jars thoroughly. It is not at all necessary to sterilize them, because first we will still use raw water. At the bottom of each container we place 1-2 dill umbrellas, a torn horseradish leaf and, if desired, leaves of bushes and trees. Add 1 tbsp. grain mustard per three-liter jar.
Place the washed vegetables on a fragrant pillow.
Please note that we do not pierce the fruits or remove the ends.
It is best to place the larger specimens at the bottom. And at the top there will be small and uneven ones. We hammer them in quite tightly.
We do not add garlic as it softens the texture of the cucumber. But if you wish, you can put 1 piece here, coarsely chopped. This amount will not harm the vegetables, but will add a pleasant aroma.
We take cold, unboiled water. If drinking water flows from your tap, without chlorine, then you can use it. There is an opportunity to take a spring one - it’s absolutely a bomb! Add salt at the rate of 1 liter. It should be large, without any additives.
Depending on the filling density of the container, a three-liter jar takes about 1.5-2 liters of liquid.
Stir until all the crystals dissolve - this is very important. Leave for about 5 minutes so that sediment that we don’t need settles to the bottom. Fill the greens with the established brine to the very edges.
Cover with a regular nylon lid. We put it on a plate, because during the fermentation process the liquid will flow out a little. Leave at room temperature for 4-7 days, depending on the room temperature.
Finding out when they are ready for the next stage is easy. The brine will become a uniform cloudy color. When you open the jar, you will feel the characteristic aroma of pickles. In the photo below you see fermented cucumbers and a jar stored from last year. They look about the same.
If you change your mind about closing them for the winter, tempted by this aroma, you can eat them now. But we will keep them. Therefore, pour the brine into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Fill it again, cover it with a lid and keep it like this for 10 minutes. Then we repeat the procedure.
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Immediately from the stove, return the liquid to the container and seal it with a seaming or screw cap.
Turn them upside down and let them cool completely in this position. You don't have to wrap it up. Then we put it in a cool, dry and dark place for storage.
How to pickle cucumbers with citric acid
Pickled cucumbers in jars for the winter can be sealed not only with salt, mustard or vodka. One of the salting methods involves adding citric acid.
For three 1 liter jars. you will need:
- cucumbers (preferably small) 2-3 kg;
- clean water 2 l;
- rock salt 2 tbsp. l;
- sugar 2 tbsp. l;
- black currant leaves 10 pcs;
- tarragon 3 sprigs;
- dill umbrellas 3 pcs;
- garlic 10 teeth;
- allspice;
- lemon acid.
Sequencing:
1. To make the collected cucumbers crispier, soak them in cold water for several hours.
2. At this time, prepare glass containers by rinsing them well with water and frying them in the microwave.
3. Rinse all leaves, tarragon and dill.
4. When the time comes, remove the cucumbers from the water, wash them thoroughly and cut off the edges on both sides. Rinse with clean water again.
5. Now you can put it into jars.
6. But first add the garlic cloves and allspice.
7. Fill the jars with cucumbers. Place the garlic clove halves between them.
8. Boil water in a saucepan and fill the filled containers, cover with lids and let the cucumbers warm up for 20 minutes.
9. Pour prepared water into the empty pan, add currant leaves, tarragon sprigs, dill and prepare a decoction by boiling them for several minutes. Then take out all the additives, add salt and sugar. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
10. Drain the water from the jars of cucumbers, pour half a teaspoon of citric acid into each, and fill the neck with hot brine. Screw the lids on immediately.
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11. Cover the blanks with a warm blanket, and after 5 hours take them to the basement for storage.
Pickles in jars, like barrels, with a nylon lid
There are many recipes for cucumbers under a nylon lid. I suggest you use my option. The salted fruits turn out like barrels - tasty and elastic.
For salting I use the following components:
- Medium-sized cucumbers – 5 kg;
- Garlic 10 cloves;
- Dill – 6 umbrellas;
- Parsley – 100 gr.;
- Bay leaf – 4 pcs.;
- Black peppercorns – 8 pcs.;
- Vinegar (70%) – 20 ml.
How to cook
- We keep the washed cucumbers in chilled water for several hours (we first cut off the ends).
- We wash the dill and parsley.
- We treat clean jars with boiling water.
- Place herbs, garlic, spices, small hot peppers and cucumbers in a container.
- Dissolve coarse or medium salt in chilled water.
- Fill the contents of the jars with cold solution.
- Leave it in the solution for about 2-4 days.
- When fermentation is over, pour the liquid into a container and boil for 4-6 minutes.
- Pour hot brine into jars, add vinegar.
- Cover with lids and store in a cool and dark place.
The results are crispy and spicy cucumbers.
