More often, cucumbers are prepared for the winter according to standard recipes - with the addition of dill, bay leaves and spices, but preparations prepared with carrot tops acquire a completely new taste and aroma. The cucumbers are piquant, rich and aromatic. Moreover, such preservation is distinguished by its usefulness and ease of preparation.
general information
It is better to salt vegetables in late August-early September. At this time, late varieties of cucumbers ripen, and carrot tops are rich in essential oils, which will add new flavors to the preservation.You should also know that vegetable preparations become saturated with aromas and flavors at least three months after canning, so you should not open the treat in advance.
The benefits of carrot tops
When including carrot tops in your diet, you need to take into account its usefulness, which has been thoroughly studied both in medicine and in cooking. The beneficial properties of greens are due to their chemical composition.
It is the green part of the plant that contains 500 times more minerals, vitamins and trace elements than the orange root itself, such as:
- selenium is a powerful natural antioxidant;
A small bunch of carrot tops, consumed on an empty stomach, covers the daily requirement of selenium.
- carotene – the body converts it into vitamin A, which gives youth to the skin;
- vitamins: C, PP, E, D, group B, necessary for the functioning of the body;
- minerals and trace elements: phosphorus, fluorine, iodine, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, manganese.
Thanks to this, carrot tops help improve immunity, neutralize food toxins, cleanse the blood, get rid of swelling and improve muscle tone and skin. The tops consist of 1.3% proteins and 7% carbohydrates.
It is saturated with greens and essential oils, which, despite all their usefulness, also give the preparations a sweetish taste.
It should be noted that the low calorie content of greens is only 35 kilocalories per 100 grams.
Selection and preparation of necessary products
Before you start preserving vegetables, you need to consider several recommendations that will make the treat appetizing and rich:
- Choose only fresh herbs for corking. If carrots grow in the garden, cut off the tops immediately before cooking.
- Look for fresh, green cucumbers, up to 10-13 centimeters in size. Spoiled, overripe specimens with large seeds are not suitable for harvesting.
- The color of a vegetable directly depends on its age. The younger the cucumbers, the greener the color of the fruit, and vice versa.
- Universal and pickling cucumbers are suitable for recipes. Vegetables have thin skin, which allows the marinade to be absorbed quickly. Such fruits, unlike salad fruits, have dark “tires”.
Before harvesting, all ingredients must be properly prepared:
- Wash each fruit well under running water, in soapy water or with soda.
- Trim the tails of the vegetable.
- Pour water at room temperature over the cucumbers for 2 to 8 hours. In this way, you can also rid the vegetable of nitrates by 15%.
- Rinse the vegetables again with cold water and dry them on kitchen towels.
When canning vegetables, pour the marinade into containers up to the neck so that the water slightly overflows.
- Pre-rinse the tops branches with water and shake off excess moisture.
You also need to prepare the jars in advance by sterilizing them in an ordinary, convenient way. It is better to wash the lids with soda and boil for 10 minutes.
Cucumbers with carrot tops for the winter, pickled, without pasteurization
Ingredients for 4 liter containers:
- Water – 2 liters.
- Salt – 2 tablespoons.
- Sugar – 7 tablespoons.
- Vinegar – 200 milliliters.
- Tops - 4 branches.
- Cucumbers – 2 kilograms.
Salting an unusual delicacy proceeds as follows:
- Place prepared sprigs of tops on the bottom of sterilized containers.
For a beautiful spring look, the tops can be packaged either at the bottom of a glass container or added along the walls.
- Place soaked and pre-washed cucumbers tightly on top of the greens.
- Pour boiling water over jars of vegetables. Cool the liquid to room temperature.
- Pour the water back into the pan, adding salt and sugar. Boil the solution again.
- Pour vinegar into the bubbling liquid and bring the mixture to a boil again.
- Close the jars with disinfected lids. Turn containers upside down. To ensure that the seaming undergoes additional pasteurization, wrap it in a warm blanket.
- Once completely cooled, move the jars to a cool storage place.
With tomatoes
This method of preparation will surprise even experienced cooks and amaze with its unsurpassed taste, because you can pickle cucumbers with carrot tops right away with tomatoes.
Ingredients for a three-liter container:
- Carrot tops – 1 bunch.
- Hot pepper – 1 piece.
- Salt – 2 tablespoons.
- Sugar – 4 tablespoons.
- Vinegar – 5 tablespoons.
- Cucumbers, tomatoes - in equal parts.
You need to salt vegetables as follows:
- First you need to thoroughly rinse the vegetables, sprigs of tops and dry them. Soak the cucumbers in water for at least 2 hours.
- Use a toothpick to pierce the tomatoes in several places so that the tomatoes do not crack when rolling.
- Place the hot pepper and the green part of the carrot in a prepared sterile container with a volume of three liters.
- Fill the jar with tomatoes to half the volume. Add cucumbers on top. Add spices to the mixture.
- Boil water and pour into bottles with vegetables. Cool the workpiece, covering it with a lid, for half an hour.
- Pour the water back into the pan and boil with vinegar.
Immediately roll up the preserved vegetables with disinfected lids. Cool the roll under the blanket, placing it upside down. After 24 hours, remove the workpiece for storage.
If the seaming will be stored in an apartment, it is better to sterilize the workpiece in a water bath in a wide basin before sealing. Sterilization time is 15-20 minutes.
Storage rules
Pickling can be stored at room temperature if the preservation is prepared in compliance with all rules of sterility of containers and ingredients.
There are also a few tips to keep in mind when storing your clog:
- The optimal storage temperature is considered to be from +5 to +20 degrees.
- The humidity in the room should be no more than 75%.
- It is not recommended to leave the seal near heat-emitting devices or batteries.
- It is unacceptable to store workpieces at sub-zero temperatures on a balcony or loggia.
