An oak tub for salting has been used for a very, very long time. In such containers, cabbage, cucumbers were salted, apples were soaked or stored, and kvass was cooked.
Varieties of tubs
To date, a large number of diverse types of these tanks are known. Some of them are used for working with food, some only as bath accessories.
The first type of oak tub is called the gang. This is a fairly large capacity of wood materials, which has two handles. Specifically, this type is not used for salting any products. The main purpose is the storage and collection of hot water. A barrel is installed in the bath. Due to the fact that the tree is capable of retaining heat, capacity for a rather long time, it has gained its wide distribution.
Another type of oak tub is jug. The design of this tank is conical. The barrel narrows upward and expands downward. At the same time, bottom and side or directly in the bottom, such tubs have a tap for draining the product stored inside. Most often they are used to store beer, kvass, sbitn.
The third oak tub is called - for pickles. Its appearance is somewhat reminiscent of a jug, as the design also narrows upward. However, this is not a completely closed container, it is rather a wooden bucket, which is closed by a cover-oppression from above. It is important to note here that depending on the wood material from which the bucket is made, the taste of salted products will also change.
Assembling tubs for pickling
The process of assembling the barrel is quite simple. It begins with the fact that it is necessary to insert rivets into a metal hoop. To do this it was convenient, the hoop must be placed vertically. In order to fix the ends of the inserted rivets, you can use a clamp or other type of device. To facilitate the assembly process, you can first fix only three pieces, and after that fasten all the rest. If the size calculation was correct, then there will be no problems. After attaching the upper hoop, you can go to the middle. The bottom is attached last.
After the skeleton of the tub was assembled, you can proceed to the procedure for inserting the bottom of the barrel. As this element, you can use round blanks that have been sawn or hammered together, like shields. In order to correctly insert the bottom into the barrel, it is necessary to slightly loosen the lower hoop. After inserting the part, the circle is tightened again. After inserting this component, you can proceed to processing the tub planer. This is done in order to get rid of bumps and give a presentable look to the product.
Final stage
When the oak tub for pickles is ready in terms of assembly, it is necessary to complete the entire process by hardening the structure. For this, there are a large number of ways, however, the most simple to perform is firing. This method has been used for a very long time. In order to carry out the firing procedure, the following must be done. The barrel is placed on its side, sawdust from any fruit trees is placed inside and set fire to them. While they are burning, the barrel needs to be rolled in order to firing all sides evenly. It is important to understand that sawdust must smolder, but in no case burn, as in a fire, otherwise the product will simply burn.
Operational Features
There are several points that will help avoid troubles in the operation of tubs.
- Oak tubs need to be soaked for about a month to completely remove all tannins from them.
- If the tank is made of linden or aspen, you can reduce the soaking time to 1-2 weeks.
- Right before laying the products inside, it is recommended to pour boiling water inside the container to disinfect.
- Bookmark must be carried out to the top. If you leave free space inside, then mold will appear on the walls.
- To store the barrel while it is not in use, you need to use a dark and cool place. So that it does not dry out, it must be lubricated with vegetable oil before storage. In no case should you fill the container with water. Because of this, mold or fungus will appear there.
Salting cabbage in an oak tub. Recipe
It is necessary to start salting with the fact that the bottom of the container is laid out with large and clean cabbage leaves. After this, the cabbage forks need to be cut into small pieces and chopped in the form of straws. If the volume of the tub, for example, is 12 liters, then about 500 grams of carrots will be needed, which will also be cut into strips.
After completing this step, you can proceed to the next. A large basin is taken, in which a certain amount of chopped cabbage is put, a little carrot. From above it is all sprinkled with salt, a small amount of granulated sugar is added. All this is kneaded by hands until the juice from the vegetables goes. When the juice starts to go, it is necessary to add new portions of cabbage and carrots.
If you salt the cabbage in an oak tub or bucket of 12 liters, you will need about two full handfuls of salt, as well as one full handful of sugar.
Process end
After the entire volume is processed in this way, the vegetables are laid out inside the barrel, on pre-laid cabbage leaves. It is necessary to stack tightly. To do this, you can use a wooden pusher. Experts advise avoiding the use of any metal objects when working with cabbage, which has already produced juice. Any spoon or crush that is used must be wooden.
After the first layer has been laid out, cabbage is laid on top of it, which was cut in half. For such small heads of cabbage, it is recommended that the stump be cut a little. On this layer of small heads of cabbage again laid out with carrots, which hustled in a basin. It is laid as tightly as the first layer, and rammed with a pusher. Clean apples are laid on top of this layer without any defects, with the cuttings removed. The best grade is considered Antonovka. However, any other sour variety will do. After that, the next portion of cabbage is laid out and the whole process is repeated again. Thus, the tub is filled to the brim.
On the last layer you need to lay out small chopped cabbages mixed with apples. All this is covered from above again with large clean leaves of cabbage and covered with a lid.