A good harvest is always a joy for a gardener. But at the same time, a large number of collected vegetables causes some trouble, since everything needs to be processed. Often, cucumbers and tomatoes ripen at the same time, so there are many recipes for assorted dishes with these vegetables. Particularly noteworthy is the assorted recipe, in which tomatoes and cucumbers are preserved for the winter with citric acid.
Features of canning assorted cucumbers and tomatoes with citric acid for the winter
Assorted cucumbers and tomatoes can be prepared with or without sterilization. The sterilization process allows you to prepare the assortment for long-term storage, as well as preserve its appearance.
But without sterilization, you can effectively prepare vegetables for the winter. For such recipes, it is necessary to wash the vegetables very carefully and sterilize the dishes separately.
How to choose the right ingredients
When selecting ingredients, you must follow the following rules:
- When selecting cucumbers, you need to pay attention to three points. Color – dark green, presence of pimples, length – from 6 to 12 centimeters. In addition, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the peel is thin, full-bodied, and a small number of seeds is preserved.
- Tomatoes for preparing for the winter must be selected small or medium in size, with elastic skin. The Red Cream variety is ideal for such purposes, which, when preserved, retains its original appearance and taste.
Important! When selecting tomatoes and cucumbers for pickling, you should not give preference to soft or damaged specimens.
Preparing containers
During the canning process, it is important to pay special attention not only to the selection of vegetables, but also to the preparation of containers. For these purposes, glass jars are used, which must first be:
- rinse thoroughly;
- dry;
- steam sterilize.
All of the above actions are necessary in order to eliminate microbes that can negatively affect shelf life and taste characteristics.
The best assorted recipes
You can tirelessly list recipes for assorted tomatoes and cucumbers, since there are a lot of them. Learn more about more interesting options.
Assorted tomatoes and cucumbers with citric acid
In order to prepare an assortment of tomatoes and cucumbers in a 3-liter jar, you will need to follow these steps:
- Wash 800 grams of cucumbers, trim the stems. Also prepare 800 grams of tomatoes.
- Place in a jar 3 dill umbrellas, 5 cherry leaves, 6 currant leaves, 6 garlic cloves, 2 hot pepper rings, 200 grams of carrots, cut into circles, 1 bell pepper, cut into strips.
- Place cucumbers and tomatoes in a jar. Boil 1.5 liters of water and pour the vegetables into the jar. Cover with a lid and leave for 15 minutes.
- Pour out the water, boil again and pour into the jar. Leave for 20 minutes. Drain. Bring to a boil, add 4 teaspoons of salt, 8 teaspoons of sugar, mix thoroughly to dissolve.
- Pour into a jar, add 1 teaspoon of citric acid, and seal tightly with a lid.
- Roll on the table to dissolve the added ingredients, turn upside down, cover with a warm blanket.
After cooling, the assortment is ready.
Option with cherry leaves
Vegetables prepared according to this recipe remain crispy and have a very unusual taste. You need to prepare the following ingredients:
- cucumbers – 300 grams;
- tomatoes – 200 grams;
- bell pepper – 200 grams;
- cherry leaves - 3 pieces;
- garlic – 3 cloves;
- bay leaf – 1 piece;
- allspice – 5 peas;
- granulated sugar – 1.5 teaspoons;
- salt – 1 teaspoon;
- citric acid – 1/3 teaspoon.
How to cook:
- Cut the prepared cucumbers into rings, bell peppers into small pieces.
- Place the prepared spices in a jar.Place vegetables in layers.
- Boil water, pour over vegetables and leave for 10 minutes. Drain, boil again, pour in and leave for another 10 minutes.
- Drain the water and prepare the marinade by dissolving granulated sugar, citric acid and salt. Bring to a boil, pour over vegetables, seal tightly. Wrap in a warm blanket until completely cooled.
Note! In order to give vegetables an unusual spicy spiciness, you need to add ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds to the brine.
In Bulgarian
Cooking assorted cucumbers and tomatoes in Bulgarian consists of the following steps:
- First of all, place peeled horseradish, dill umbrellas, garlic, and ½ hot pepper on the bottom of the jars.
- Chop the cucumbers and tomatoes, lay them in layers, sprinkling each layer with chopped garlic.
- Place ½ hot pepper on top of the vegetables, some dill umbels and a few garlic cloves.
- Prepare the marinade. To do this, pour water into a container, add 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 50 grams of vinegar. Bring to a boil on the stove, pour the vegetables into the jar and sterilize for 15 minutes.
- Seal tightly, wrap the jars in a blanket, and leave until completely cooled.
Rules and terms of storage of preservation
In order for canned tomatoes and cucumbers to be stored for a long time, the following conditions must be observed:
- keeping the room cool;
- protection from sunlight.
With the correct preparation technology and compliance with the above conditions, the products can be stored from six months to 2 years.
