Cucumbers for the winter can be pickled in clean spring water in a cold or hot way. The area around the spring must be kept clean, the approach is equipped with a walkway. This is the key to spring water compliance with drinking water quality standards for microbiological indicators; it can be consumed without boiling and used for preparations without pre-treatment.
Features of the recipe using well water
Well water, like spring water, is underground water and its composition depends on the layers of occurrence. It is rich in healthy salts and microelements, which enrich the brine, and keep the cucumbers firm and crisp.
Soft water is not suitable for preparations.
Which cucumbers should you choose for pickling?
Special varieties of cucumbers, including gherkins, are chosen for pickling. Pickling varieties and hybrids: Rodnichok, Zozulya, Bochkovoy pickling, Merry guys, Parisian gherkin.
In stores, young cucumbers with thin skin, pimpled with black or white spines are chosen for pickling.
Preparing all ingredients
Cucumbers are pre-prepared before pickling:
- sorted by size;
- wash off dirt with a brush;
- pour water for 5 hours;
- cut off the ends and pierce with a fork in several places.
Leaves and greens are washed and dried. Peel the garlic cloves and horseradish roots, cut the horseradish into circles.
Jars and lids are washed and sterilized using steam or dry air.
Recipes and cooking rules
In order for the cucumbers to turn out crispy and tasty, you must follow the cooking rules, the composition of the recipe, and the quality of the products.
Iodized salt causes jars to bomb. Iodine evaporates when salt is heated in a frying pan..
With horseradish and dill
Cucumbers can be pickled with horseradish and dill, wait until fermentation is complete and seal the jars hermetically. The blanks are stored for a long time at home.
Place horseradish leaves, an umbrella of dill, cloves of garlic, chopped horseradish root, gherkins, and a horseradish leaf on top of the jars. The contents of the jars are filled with hot brine, left for 10 days to ferment, then filled with fresh cold brine and closed with metal lids.
For the brine:
- water – 1 l;
- salt – 50 g.
For 1 kg of cucumbers:
- horseradish root – 5 g;
- fresh dill – 30 g;
- horseradish leaves - 2 leaves;
- garlic – 3 g.
With currant and cherry leaves
Currant and cherry leaves give pickled cucumbers a high-quality aroma and taste.
The gherkins are placed in liter jars, topped with currant leaves, cherry leaves and crushed garlic, and chopped horseradish is placed on top.
The jars are placed in a saucepan with warm water and filled with boiling brine, covered with lids, and left for a day. The brine is drained, boiled, and the cucumbers are poured twice with an interval of 5 minutes.
At the end, add citric acid or vinegar and seal it hermetically.
Ingredients:
- water – 1 l;
- salt – 60 g;
- gherkins – 0.7 kg;
- currant and cherry leaves - 10-15 pcs.;
- horseradish root – 10 g;
- garlic – 3 cloves;
- citric acid – 1 g or
- table vinegar 9% – 5 g.
Cold way
Pickled cucumbers with the addition of hot pepper and mustard retain their taste, are green in color, have a pleasant mustard aroma and a spicy taste.
A 3-liter jar is filled with gherkins, a pod of hot pepper, cloves of garlic, horseradish, dry mustard are placed in the middle, filled with brine, a horseradish leaf is placed on top, covered with plastic lids, and stored in the cellar. The fermentation process begins after 2-3 weeks; when part of the brine leaks out, it is topped up.
For 1 kg of gherkins:
- salt – 70 g;
- hot pepper – 4 g;
- garlic – 3 g;
- horseradish root – 5 g;
- dry mustard – 2 g.
How and with what to serve
Pickles are a delicious snack. They are served with aperitifs, main courses, and used for cooking:
- salads, vinaigrette;
- pickle, solyanka;
- basics in Tatar;
- fillings for pies.
A crispy pickled cucumber before eating will bring pleasure, add appetite, and facilitate the digestion of fatty foods.
Duration and storage conditions
Cucumbers prepared cold without heat treatment are stored in a cellar or refrigerator. They retain their taste until the next harvest.
Hermetically sealed jars are kept at home away from heating devices and heating systems for up to 2 years.
