Salted Cucumbers for Winter
Description
Perfect for winter pantry stocks. For pickling cucumbers you will need sterile jars, lids, a jar wrench, fresh small cucumbers, and spices. The essence of the recipe is to salt the cucumbers first, let them ferment, and then preserve them. If you have good storage conditions (a cellar with the right temperature), you do not need to add vinegar—the cucumbers will keep well. If you store them in a pantry, I recommend adding one tablespoon of 9% table vinegar or vodka per jar. A full tablespoon is about 20 ml of vinegar. Allspice can be replaced with black peppercorns. Store in a cool, dark place.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients. Soak the cucumbers in cold water for 2 hours, then wash them thoroughly and trim the ends.
- 2
Step 2
Sterilize the jars and lids. Place dill, black currant and cherry leaves, horseradish, garlic, allspice, and chili pepper at the bottom of each jar.
- 3
Step 3
Fill the jars with cucumbers. At the bottom I place cucumbers vertically, and on top I fill in with smaller ones or halves, whatever is at hand.
- 4
Step 4
Add salt to clean cold water and dissolve.
- 5
Step 5
Fill the jars with cucumbers so the cucumbers are fully covered, cover with lids or tie cheesecloth over the jar necks. Leave at room temperature for 3–5 days.
- 6
Step 6
Depending on the temperature in your kitchen or in the room where the cucumbers are standing, the pickling time will vary. It’s very hot here right now, and in 3 days my little cucumbers had already over-fermented. If it’s cool where you are, feel free to leave them for 5 days. A day after you make them, you’ll see the cucumbers starting to change color unevenly, and a thick white foam will begin to form on the surface of the jars—I usually skim it off. The next day the process will be more active: the brine will turn cloudy, and the little cucumbers will start to smell delicious. As soon as the fermentation begins to die down, the cucumbers are ready for canning. In the photo are my cucumbers after three days—they over-fermented, the aroma is excellent, the color has changed completely, and the brine should be cloudy!
- 7
Step 7
Drain the brine from all the jars, bring to a boil, and cook for 3 minutes. If the cucumbers in the jars have developed a white coating, rinse them with clean cold water.
- 8
Step 8
My cucumbers didn't develop a film, so they don't need to be washed. This depends on the cucumber variety.
- 9
Step 9
Pour boiling brine into each jar and sterilize for 10 minutes.
- 10
Step 10
Pour in 20 ml of vinegar each and seal. Turn upside down until completely cooled, then you can put them in the pantry for storage.
- 11
Step 11
Happy preserving!