In the fall, preparing for the winter takes a lot of time from housewives. In addition to traditional snacks, you can prepare pickled zucchini for the winter like cucumbers. After all, these vegetables are so close in taste. And although marinated cucumbers are more familiar to us, zucchini is not inferior to them in quality.
Is it possible to pickle zucchini like cucumbers?
Zucchini is classified as a dietary vegetable.The fruits contain so many vitamins and microelements that will help you avoid gaining weight and normalize the functioning of the digestive tract. As a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, the vegetable is similar in its elongated fruits to cucumbers. Pumpkins are especially close in appearance when they are young and immature. If you plant zucchini and cucumbers next to each other, then due to cross-pollination you will get hybrids that are similar to both cucumber and zucchini.
Vegetables differ in that zucchini can reach enormous sizes as they grow, up to 2-4 kilograms. At the same time, pumpkins cannot be used in cooking: they have such a thick peel, and there are a lot of seeds inside. But young light green zucchini are good for pickling, as are cucumbers.
Requirements for main ingredients
You should not choose all the zucchini for pickling. Ordinary varieties of vegetables or zucchini are best suited. It is better not to pickle yellow types of zucchini. The size of the pumpkins plays a major role. It is necessary that the zucchini fruits resemble cucumbers in shape and size, and be between 10-20 centimeters in length.
Before cooking, the fruits are kept soaked in water for 2 hours, then washed and cut into circles or bars. If large seeds have already appeared, then you need to clear them from the middle of the pulp. When a dense peel forms, it is better to peel the fruit from it.
Preparing containers
Jars for pickled zucchini should be chosen in such a volume that you can immediately eat the preparation. If your family enjoys eating vegetables, you can use 2 and 3 liter bottles. But it’s better to take liter jars. They should be thoroughly washed with hot water and soda and rinsed. Sterilize the container in a steam or water bath for 10 to 20 minutes. The jars are sealed with iron lids, which are also sterilized.
Pickling recipes
Housewives know different ways to prepare zucchini for the winter. Many people prefer them because of their delicate and slightly sweet taste and aromatic pulp.
Young canned zucchini like cucumbers
Canning pumpkins begins with preparing the zucchini. They must be washed under running water and cut into slices 1 centimeter thick. For a three-liter jar you need to take:
- 2 kilograms of zucchini;
- a head or 2 garlic;
- 10 black peppercorns;
- several laurel leaves;
- water 1.5 liters;
- salt 2 tablespoons;
- 4 - sugar;
- 1 tablespoon of vinegar essence.
First, place the pumpkin circles, sprinkled with chopped garlic cloves, pepper, and bay leaves. The brine is prepared over a fire and the boiling liquid is poured over the vegetables.
Now the workpieces are sterilized in a water bath. You need to keep it for 15 minutes, and liter jars - 10.
After rolling, leave the jars with pickled vegetables wrapped until they cool completely.
It is recommended to add carrot slices and onion rings to the zucchini.
You can flavor the preparation with an umbrella of dill, currant leaves, cherries, horseradish. It all depends on the taste of the hostess, her culinary preferences.
Without sterilization
If you don’t want to bother with sterilization, then you can close the zucchini for the winter without it. You need to take the same amount of zucchini and spices as in the previous recipe. The fruit circles placed in jars are poured with boiling water twice. Keep for 4-5 minutes, covering the jars with a lid. After this, drain the water. For the 3rd time, pour marinade and roll up.
There is another option for pickled zucchini without sterilization:
- Prepare the marinade by taking 4 tablespoons of sugar and 2 salt per liter of water, adding bay leaves and black and allspice peas, vinegar essence.
- Then the chopped zucchini is dipped into the boiling liquid. Stir them so that they heat evenly.
- Keep the vegetables on the fire for 3 minutes after boiling.
- Quickly put into prepared jars, pouring marinade on top.
- All that remains is to close it under the iron lids and leave it to cool under the blanket.
To understand which recipe is suitable, you need to try them.
With mustard
To make the zucchini crispy, just like cucumbers, you should use this recipe for pickling vegetables.
Garlic cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves, and vegetable fruits cut into bars are placed in liter jars.
To prepare the marinade you need 500 ml of water:
- a heaped teaspoon of salt;
- a tablespoon of mustard grains and powder;
- 2 tablespoons of sugar.
When the water boils, add a teaspoon of vinegar. Now pour everything into jars and sterilize. You need to tighten it after 15 minutes.
With citric acid
A proven, delicious recipe for pickled zucchini with citric acid. The result is tender fruits that cook quickly, without much effort.
For a liter jar you need to take, in addition to zucchini:
- onion head;
- 1-2 cloves of garlic;
- half a teaspoon of citric acid;
- aspirin tablet;
- a tablespoon of salt;
- a teaspoon of sugar.
For taste, add bay leaf, allspice, and dill. The preparation will be tastier when rolled up with currant and cherry leaves.
The zucchini must be soaked in cold water for 4 hours before marinating. Then they are cut and placed in jars along with spices, aromatic leaves, sugar and salt. Then you need to put citric acid and aspirin on top. Pour boiling water over the vegetables and roll up the container with the zucchini.
Best before date
Store zucchini preparations during the winter.It's best to make enough jars to eat within a year. It is not recommended to keep it longer: the vegetables will become tasteless and tough.
Storage conditions
Marinated foods prepared with sterilization will easily withstand cellar conditions. They are stored under iron lids at a temperature of +2 degrees. It is necessary that the humidity in the room be within 75-80%, otherwise the lids will begin to rust. But those preparations that are prepared without sterilization are best placed in the refrigerator.
It is necessary to monitor the condition of the pickled zucchini, do not open those jars that are swollen or mold has appeared inside. If you consume a spoiled product, you can get poisoned.
