Preparing crispy cucumbers for the winter without sterilization in the monastery style is a unique dish that even a novice housewife can prepare. There are various recipes including mustard, ketchup, apple cider vinegar. But it is recommended to try extraordinary recipes, for example, according to the recipe of Pelageya Alexandrova-Ignatieva from 1889, or according to Ekaterina Avdeeva from 1851.
- What’s special about the monastery-style cucumbers dish?
- What side dishes are recommended to serve with?
- Prepare the necessary ingredients
- Popular recipes and cooking rules
- Crispy cucumbers for the winter without sterilization, monastic style
- With mustard
- Monastery-style sweet cucumbers with Makheev ketchup
- With apple cider vinegar
- With red currants in jars
- Cooking cucumbers using simple pickling
- Crispy “Monastery” from Father Hermogenes
- Pickled monastery cucumbers
- Fizzy cucumber recipe
- Ancient recipes
- Pickling cucumbers according to the recipe of Pelageya Alexandrova-Ignatieva, 1889
- Pickling cucumbers in pumpkin recipe from Ekaterina Alekseevna Avdeeva, 1851
- Kholynsky cucumbers (recipe over 500 years old)
- Duration of storage of blanks
What’s special about the monastery-style cucumbers dish?
The monastery-style cucumbers dish is an excellent delicacy that will surprise guests at the festive table. These are not ordinary pickled cucumbers that all housewives make.
Monastery-style recipes are different in that the vegetables retain their crisp properties completely. At the same time, they are quite watery, rich in seasonings and aromatic spices.
What side dishes are recommended to serve with?
Monastery-style cucumbers go well with any side dishes. But they are most delicious with fried or boiled potatoes, buckwheat or pearl barley.
Just like other pickled vegetables, they go well with meat and stewed fish. They are served with steaks, aromatic cutlets and delicious meatballs.
Prepare the necessary ingredients
In order to get delicious monastery-style cucumbers, you need to properly prepare the main ingredient. Vegetables should be of excellent quality and medium ripeness. If you take unripe ones, they will not be saturated with enough moisture and will be very hard or dry. If you pickle overripe cucumbers, they will not be crispy; they will rather disintegrate when kept in a jar for a long time.
Medium-sized fruits without any defects, yellow spots, large seeds, etc. are suitable. Vegetables are washed thoroughly and allowed to drain in a colander.
Popular recipes and cooking rules
Take one of the following recipes as an example.
Crispy cucumbers for the winter without sterilization, monastic style
Initially, cucumbers were pickled in oak barrels, which resulted in an extraordinary and rich taste. In a city apartment, three-liter glass jars are used. But in this case it is necessary to take certain herbs. For this recipe you will need:
- 2-2.5 kilograms of young cucumbers with noticeable pimples;
- 2 tablespoons per liter of water salt;
- pure water.
There are a variety of spices, but the ones most suitable for this recipe are:
- young garlic leaves and cloves;
- oak, cherry and currant leaves;
- fresh dill umbrellas;
- mustard seeds;
- tarragon sprigs;
- black and white peppercorns.
Of course, it’s easier to collect all these ingredients if you have your own garden. But those who live in an apartment shouldn’t be upset - the necessary ingredients can be found at grandmothers’ markets.
Step-by-step cooking algorithm:
- cucumbers are washed, dried, and the ends are cut off;
- All herbs, leaves and spices are thoroughly washed;
- put the greens down, press fresh cucumbers tightly on top;
- wrap the top with horseradish leaves;
- make brine and pour it into jars;
- Place each jar on a tray in a dark and warm place.
Next comes the fermentation process - it takes up to four days. Its end can be seen by the strong turbidity of the water and the appearance of foam. After a day, the foam will settle, after which the brine is decanted.
The cucumbers are thoroughly washed with boiling water so that all the white coating is removed from them.
The cucumbers are transferred to jars, mustard and pepper are added, and pre-strained and boiled brine is poured in. Quickly roll into jars and leave in a dark place.
With mustard
Tasty and crispy cucumbers with mustard are perfect for the holiday table. They can also be added to salads, for example, Olivier, to make their taste rich and extraordinary. You will need:
- 2-2.5 kg of cucumbers;
- 6 tablespoons of salt per three-liter jar;
- half a glass of 9 percent vinegar per liter of marinade;
- settled or spring water.
Spices are also needed. For this recipe, oak and currant leaves, as well as dill umbrellas, fresh parsley, horseradish leaves and roots, and mustard will be optimal.
First, all ingredients are washed and dried. Leaves and horseradish roots are placed at the bottom of the jars (pre-cut into slices). The jar is tightly filled with cucumbers, but it is better to take the smallest specimens. Covered with horseradish leaves.
Prepare the marinade - boil water with salt, add vinegar. The mixture is poured over the cucumbers and left for 35 minutes. After this, the brine is drained and brought to a boil again. If foam appears, it must be removed.
At this time, mustard seeds are placed in the jar so that they are evenly distributed throughout the vessel. The jars are filled with boiling brine, quickly rolled up, and turned over.
Monastery-style sweet cucumbers with Makheev ketchup
This is a rather extraordinary recipe. The cucumbers will turn out not only very crispy, but also beautiful, bright, and with a tomato taste. You can use any ketchup, but housewives recommend Makheev, as it shows excellent quality. You will need:
- cucumbers;
- onions - one head per jar;
- salt - 1 tablespoon per liter of water;
- sugar - one tablespoon per liter of water;
- vinegar - 4 tablespoons per liter;
- ketchup - up to 6 tablespoons per liter.
First, place thinly sliced onion into rings at the bottom of the jar. On it are chopped cucumbers (they are cut into circles up to 2 centimeters wide). Fill with cold, settled water to the top, drain immediately and put on fire.
Salt, sugar, vinegar, and ketchup are added to the water according to calculations. The entire mixture is boiled for up to 5 minutes. The mixture is poured over the cucumbers. Sterilization is required - it takes 10 minutes. At the same time, it is not necessary to wrap the cans after rolling. They just need to be left at room temperature in a dark place.
With apple cider vinegar
Cucumbers with apple cider vinegar are quite tender in taste and very crunchy. For the recipe you will need:
- small cucumbers with pimples;
- bunches of red currants;
- 6 tablespoons of sugar and salt per three-liter jar;
- 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar per liter of marinade;
- water.
Any spices can be used, but most often they use currant and cherry leaves, dried clove buds, and allspice peas.
First, the cucumbers are carefully prepared and the ends are cut off. Leaves and cloves with pepper are placed on the bottom of the container, it is filled with cucumbers up to the shoulders. Boiling water is poured into jars, after half an hour it is drained and put on fire along with salt, sugar and vinegar. Boiling water is poured over all the cucumbers. Sterilization is not necessary for this recipe, but you need to wrap the jars and leave them in a dark place.
With red currants in jars
The option with red currants in jars turns out to be very festive in appearance. In addition to the main ingredient, you need:
- 800 grams of red currants;
- leaves of black currant, cherry;
- dill umbrellas;
- black pepper, garlic and cloves.
First the marinade is prepared. To do this, boil salt and sugar in a saucepan.Leaves and seasonings are placed at the bottom of the jar, and the cucumbers are loaded tightly. Boiling water is poured into the jars. Sterilization is required - at least ten minutes.
Cooking cucumbers using simple pickling
In addition to cucumbers, you need:
- leaves of horseradish, black currant, cherry;
- tarragon branch;
- 5 cloves of garlic;
- 6 dill umbrellas;
- red pepper pod;
- 3 tablespoons salt;
- pure water.
Horseradish, dill, tarragon, currants, cherries, peppers, and garlic are loaded into jars. Pour boiling water with salt.
Leave at room temperature for three days. As soon as the vegetables begin to sour, they are removed. The brine is drained and boiled. It is poured again, the cans are rolled up.
Crispy “Monastery” from Father Hermogenes
The recipe from the priest does not contain vinegar. You will need:
- 2 kg of cucumbers;
- 3 tablespoons salt;
- young garlic;
- horseradish leaves and dill.
The algorithm is quite simple: vegetables are loaded into jars (cut into halves vertically) and filled with water. Leave for three days, then boil the brine, removing the foam, and pour it over the cucumbers again.
Pickled monastery cucumbers
The recipe for lightly salted cucumbers is quite simple. You will need:
- dill;
- garlic;
- salt.
The cucumbers are sprinkled with salt, the garlic is pressed through a press. Crush vigorously with your hands until juice appears. Place in the refrigerator - after 4 hours the aromatic snack is ready.
Fizzy cucumber recipe
Need to:
- 4 kg of fresh small cucumbers;
- 2.5 liters of water;
- 80 grams of salt;
- 300 grams of sugar;
- 400 ml 9 percent vinegar;
- favorite seasonings.
Cucumbers are soaked in water for three hours. Leaves and garlic are placed at the bottom of the jars. Pour brine three times according to the standard recipe. For the last time, vinegar is poured into each jar (200 ml per two-liter jar).
Ancient recipes
In monasteries they still make ancient recipes that have an unforgettable taste. It is almost impossible to repeat these at home.
Pickling cucumbers according to the recipe of Pelageya Alexandrova-Ignatieva, 1889
In addition to the main ingredient, you need:
- dill;
- tarragon;
- corvel;
- Chembor;
- cherry leaves;
- oak leaves;
- horseradish;
- garlic.
The peculiarity is that the cucumbers are pickled in a vessel for three days under pressure. Then the brine is drained, boiled and poured back into the jars.
Pickling cucumbers in pumpkin recipe from Ekaterina Alekseevna Avdeeva, 1851
Cucumbers with thyme, tarragon, and marjoram are loaded into the pumpkin. They are placed in barrels and a decoction of oak bark is added.
Kholynsky cucumbers (recipe over 500 years old)
The peculiarity of the recipe is that the salting takes place in an oak barrel and spring water. Then the barrel is lowered into a clean river, where it lies under ice all winter. Cucumbers according to this recipe were obtained without gases, very crispy and tender.
Duration of storage of blanks
Monastery-style cucumbers can be stored for up to two years. They can be kept in the refrigerator for up to two months.