Each housewife knows the recipes for canning cucumbers. However, snacks prepared using the same technology quickly get bored. There is a desire to try something new and original. However, experience and knowledge are not always enough. Well, consider in today's article the original recipes for canning cucumbers.
How to choose the ingredients
Cucumber canning recipes do not always describe which varieties can be used. However, such varieties can be distinguished in appearance. Of course, in the jar you can put almost any fruit. However, the result will not always be satisfactory. Unpleasant aroma, sour cucumbers, swollen lids - this is not always what you want. How to choose a variety? What canning cucumbers are suitable?
Many people like vegetables with small pimples. After all, they are so green and neat. They look, of course, beautiful. However, they should not be rolled up in banks. After all, this is a salad grade. For preservation, fruits covered with large pimples with black spikes are suitable.
There is another sign. This is a transition of color from dark to lighter. If the fruits have a uniform color, then they should be consumed fresh. The exception is large cucumbers. They are also called Chinese.
Of course, special attention should be paid to the degree of ripeness of vegetables. Overripe fruits of yellow or dark brown color are not subject to preservation. They have not only too thick peels, but also hard seeds, and too loose flesh.
Very small fruits are considered unsuitable. After all, they have not yet acquired a characteristic aroma and have not gained juice. However, there are exceptions: gherkins and pickles. They are recommended to be preserved practically microscopic.
What size to choose? According to canning recipes, cucumbers should be 7 to 9 cm long. They are convenient not only to put in jars, but also to eat. In addition, they look beautiful in banks.
How to prepare vegetables
In recipes for preserving cucumbers, it is difficult to find information on how to properly prepare vegetables. Many will say that simply washing them and putting them in a jar is enough. However, do not rush. Of course, if you are going to prepare preparations for the winter without observing important rules, then do just that. If you want to get a delicious snack, then it is worth a little effort.
To start, the fruits should be washed well. To do this, do not use a brush. A soft sponge or a cloth is suitable. After this, the cucumbers must be placed in a deep container and pour cold water. Purchased must stand in it from 7 to 8 hours. In this case, water is recommended to be changed regularly. But the fruits grown in the infield are steeped for 2-3 hours. Due to this, vegetables absorb more moisture, and voids during canning will not form inside them. Cucumbers will turn out crispy and dense.
Of course, many have the question, why such a time difference? This is due to the fact that cucumbers sold in stores can be picked long before they hit the counter. But moisture from such vegetables leaves quickly.
Some recipes for home canning cucumbers provide little tricks. For example, to get an unusual aroma, it is worth rubbing dill branches in the water in which vegetables are soaked. 10 liters of fluid requires no more than 5 pieces.
Choose the dishes
It just so happened that cucumbers canned in a barrel or in a three-liter jar. However, this option is suitable for a large family. Now the recipes for preserving cucumbers in liter jars are relevant. It is not only convenient, but also profitable. One jar is enough for a family of three. In addition, if the snack stays open for a long time, it loses its taste and may become moldy.
For this reason, a container of 1 liter is considered the most convenient. As for oak barrels, they are not so easy to find, even in a specialized store. But why exactly the oak? Such wood contains tannin, which allows you to keep pickled cucumbers crispy for a long time. To achieve the desired result, you can add oak bark to the brine, pre-treating it with boiling water.
Do i need to sterilize?
If you look at any recipe for preserving cucumbers for the winter, you will notice that such an appetizer is not sterilized. Indeed, in a few minutes of such processing, the microbes will not die, and after 10 - the vegetables will simply boil. This will ruin the taste of the snack.
It is enough to process the lids and glass containers. To do this, you can resort to any familiar method: a boiling kettle, microwave, oven, etc. If you are confident in the quality of the water, you can simply wash the containers in a soda solution with a stiff brush. Hot liquid will kill all germs.
Choose spices
The recipe for home canning of cucumbers always begins with a listing of all the necessary ingredients and spices. What spices to choose? How much to add? So, the three-liter capacity requires:
- blackcurrant leaves (green) - 5 pcs.;
- dill umbrellas with seeds (dry) - 3 pcs.;
- black pepper - up to 5 peas;
- allspice - 4 peas;
- garlic (peeled) - 3 cloves;
- rock salt - about 2 tbsp. l .;
- sugar - no more than 3 tbsp. l .;
- vinegar essence (70%) - no more than 1 tbsp. l
This is a standard set of spices, which is added to cucumbers almost always. The rest of your imagination should not be limited. Thanks to additional spices, you can get an extraordinary taste. When preserving such vegetables, you can add leaves or horseradish roots, nettle twigs, mustard seeds, red pepper pods, tarragon, basil, etc. This list is very long. Experiment, and you will definitely get an original snack.
A little tip! In each recipe for the preservation of cucumbers for the winter there is garlic. Its cloves are not recommended to be cut, as the juice will make the brine cloudy. Therefore, they should be added whole.
Pasteurized vegetables
This is the easiest recipe for preserving cucumbers. To prepare a snack you will need:
- tomatoes (small) - from 3 to 4 pcs.;
- cucumbers
- horseradish (leaves);
- black currant (leaves);
- cherry (leaves);
- sprigs of dill;
- black pepper;
- table salt - 2 tbsp. l .;
- ordinary sugar - 1 tbsp. l .;
- vinegar 9% - 1 tbsp. l .;
- fresh garlic.
Cooking steps
To begin, prepare the components: treat the leaves and cucumbers with boiling water. Wash the tomatoes thoroughly. At the bottom of the containers, put the leaves of cherry, currant (black) and horseradish, sprigs of dill and peppercorns, add salt and regular sugar. Fill the jars with cucumbers, and place slices of peeled garlic between them. Put a few small tomatoes at the top. They will add sourness to the cucumbers and not allow the lids to swell.
Fill containers with vegetables with boiling water, cover with lids. Sterilize everything within 15 minutes after boiling. Remove the covers and add a few cloves of garlic, an umbrella of dill and a tablespoon of table vinegar. Roll up containers, turn them upside down, wrap them with a blanket and leave them warm for 24 hours.
Canned vegetables
The recipes for preserving cucumbers for the winter are very diverse. To prepare a snack, you will need:
- salt - 0.5 kg;
- regular sugar - 0.5 kg;
- cucumbers
- vinegar 9% - not more than 100 ml;
- water (not chlorinated) - 10 l;
- garlic - no more than 3 cloves;
- bell pepper - ½ pod;
- laurel leaf;
- black pepper;
- dill greens, as well as parsley.
How to cook?
To start, wash the cucumbers well, remove the tails on each side. Fold the vegetables in clean jars, pour boiling water, cover with lids and wrap with a blanket. Leave the cucumbers as they are until the water has cooled. Spend this time preparing the brine. To do this, pour water into a deep container and add sugar and table salt. Observe proportions. For 10 liters of water, 0.5 kg of salt and sugar are required. Add dill and parsley to this solution. Heat the liquid to a boil and after a few minutes remove spices from it. Boil the brine over low heat until the jars of cucumbers become warm. Finally, add table vinegar to it.
Gently wash the jars and treat with boiling water. Put several cloves of garlic, ½ pepper, bay leaf, black pepper (about 5 peas) and ground pepper (about ¼ tsp) on the bottom of three-liter containers. Place the cucumbers in the jars, fill them with hot pickle, roll them up. Turn the containers upside down, wrap them with a blanket and leave at room temperature for 24 hours.
Cucumbers with currant juice
How to cook such a snack? Preservation of cucumbers should start with the preparation of components. So you will need:
- cucumbers
- black pepper;
- cloves;
- garlic - a few cloves;
- dill (twigs);
- fresh mint;
- 20 g of white sugar;
- 50 g of table salt;
- 250 ml of currant juice.
Let's start canning
Wash the vegetables thoroughly and remove the ponytails on both sides. At the bottom of the glass containers put a few peas of pepper, two cloves of garlic, cloves, a sprig of mint and dill. Prepare the brine according to the proportions. For 1 liter of water you will need 20 g of white sugar, 50 g of table salt, 250 ml of juice. All this is heated to a boil. Place the cucumbers in the container, placing them vertically. Pour with brine, close the lids, sterilize for 10 minutes and roll up.
Harvesting with juice from apples and pumpkins
Such canning of cucumbers for the winter can be done even by a novice hostess. This will require:
- pumpkin juice - 1 l;
- cucumbers
- apple juice - 300 ml;
- white sugar - 50 g;
- salt - 50 g.
Wash the vegetables, treat them with boiling water and put them in containers. Prepare the brine by dissolving sugar and salt in a liter of pumpkin juice, as well as adding apple juice. Heat to a boil and pour cucumbers. Leave the blank for a few minutes. Then drain the brine and heat to a boil again. Repeat such manipulations 3 times, and then roll up the containers.
Recipe with grape leaves
For cooking you will need:
- cucumbers
- vineyard leaves;
- grape or apple juice - 300 ml;
- white sugar - 50 g;
- salt - 50 g.
Wash the vegetables well, treat them with boiling water, and finally - with cold water. Wrap each fruit in a leaf of grapes, place them tightly in glass containers. Cook the brine. To do this, mix grape juice, salt and sugar. Pour the vegetables with brine, leave for 5 minutes. After this, drain the liquid, heat to a boil. After that, pour the brine into the jars again. Such manipulations need to be repeated several times. Roll up the cans.
Canning with grape juice
For such a blank, the following components will be required:
- cucumbers - about 2 kg;
- grape juice - 600 ml;
- black currant (leaves) - about 5 pcs.;
- cherry branches - 3 pcs. with leaves;
- non-chlorinated water - 700 ml;
- salt - not more than 50 g;
- grape vinegar - 20 g.
Wash vegetables and process boiling water, and then place them in cold water. Place the fruits in jars by placing them vertically. Add currant leaves and cherry branches to each bowl. Dilute grape juice with water. Add salt to such a brine and heat to a boil. Pour cucumbers in glass jars with hot juice. Wait 5 minutes, drain the brine and heat again to a boil. Pour cucumbers with hot liquid. Repeat the manipulations 3 times, and then roll up the containers.
Coniferous pickles
Preparing such an appetizer is very simple. The main thing is to have the necessary components on hand. To prepare you will need:
- cucumbers - about 2 kg;
- juice made from apples - 1.3 liters;
- pine - 3 branches;
- regular sugar - 50 g;
- table salt - 50 g.
First, prepare the cucumbers. Wash them first with boiling water and then with non-chlorinated cold water. Put the vegetables in jars. Add pine branches to this. Make a pickle from the juice of apples, sugar and, of course, salt. Pour cucumbers with hot liquid, wait 5 minutes, drain, boil and pour again. Manipulations repeat 3 times. At the end of the tank roll up.
Horseradish Recipe
Such an additive makes them crispy and very tasty. To prepare the snack, prepare the following components:
- cucumbers - about 2 kg;
- black pepper;
- garlic - not more than 4 cloves;
- small horseradish root - 4 pcs.;
- currant leaves;
- dill (umbrellas);
- salt - not less than 2 tbsp. l .;
- and the last component is white sugar (1 tbsp. l.).
Rinse and dry the cucumbers. Put them in containers, transferring horseradish, dill, currant leaves, pepper and garlic. Cook the brine. To do this, dilute salt and white sugar in 1.2 liters of water. Pour the vegetables with the ready brine, cover with a plastic cover and place in the refrigerator.
Miracle appetizer
This recipe for the preservation of cucumbers for the winter on a liter jar is calculated. To prepare, prepare:
- cucumbers are the smallest;
- vinegar essence - not more than 1 tsp;
- fresh parsley - 1 sprig;
- bulb;
- carrot;
- table salt - 1 tbsp. l .;
- allspice;
- sugar - about 2 tbsp. l .;
- carnation umbrellas;
- black pepper;
- laurel leaf.
Wash and dry vegetables thoroughly. Put them in liter containers, alternating with spices. Place chopped onions, carrots and a sprig of parsley on top. Heat the water, fill it in a container with cucumbers and leave for 10 minutes. Drain the liquid, heat to a boil. Fill again in the container. Repeat manipulations 3 times. At the end, add salt, white sugar to the water. Before pouring the brine into each jar, add a teaspoon of vinegar essence. Roll up containers.
In conclusion
Preserving cucumbers is a simple process. The main thing is to observe the cooking technology. At the same time, do not forget that each spice can significantly change the taste of the finished product. Therefore, spices should be added with caution, not forgetting that everything is good in moderation. It is not necessary to choose only one recipe. You can try a few. This will surprise their households with crispy and tasty cucumbers throughout the winter.
It is worth noting that such an appetizer will be a good addition to meat and potato dishes. It can be served at the festive table, as well as for decorating salads. Small cucumbers look very original. But if they are also cooked correctly, then they will be a great addition.