How to can cucumbers for winter: delicious recipes from the chef

Homemade preserves are not losing relevance – people tend to use natural products and avoid industrial preservatives. Meanwhile, one of the most popular vegetables for canning are cucumbers.

Benefits of canned cucumbers

Canned cucumbers are not only a classic appetizer, but also a source of many useful substances.

Rich in vitamins and minerals. Canned cucumbers preserve a significant amount of vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, C and K, as well as zinc, magnesium, calcium and potassium. These elements are important for keeping the body functioning properly. Vitamin C, for example, helps strengthen the immune system and protects cells from damage, while vitamin K plays a key role in the blood clotting process and maintaining bone health.

Low-calorie product. These homemade preserves are low in calories, making them a great choice for people watching their weight. They can serve as a great snack or addition to main meals without adding extra calories.

Digestive Support. Cucumbers contain fiber, which improves the digestive system. Canned cucumbers, in particular, help normalize metabolism and regulate blood sugar levels. They also promote a favorable intestinal microflora, which is important for overall health and constipation prevention.

Probiotics. When canned using the fermentation process (souring), cucumbers produce beneficial probiotics. These microorganisms play an important role in maintaining gut health by improving digestion and strengthening the immune system. Probiotics can also fight some foodborne infections and inflammatory diseases.

Antioxidant properties. The antioxidant content in a dish helps protect the body’s cells from damage caused by free radicals. This, in turn, can reduce the risk of a number of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.

Are canned cucumbers harmful?

The big disadvantage of these homemade pickles is the high salt content. Just one large canned cucumber can cover more than 2/3 of the daily norm of sodium.

Too much salt in the diet can raise blood pressure, and this increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease. Sodium can also leach calcium from bones, causing them to weaken and increasing the likelihood of fractures.

Choosing cucumbers for canning

Choosing the right cucumbers is key to successful canning.

To get a tasty appetizer it is worth selecting only fresh, strong vegetables without damage and rot. Cucumbers of the “gherkin” type or other small-fruited varieties are perfect for canning. They have thin skins and crispy flesh.

Choose young fruits, because large, overripe cucumbers have thick skins and hard seeds.

Preparing cucumbers for canning

Before you start canning, you need to prepare.

First, decide on a recipe and strictly follow the instructions. Otherwise, it will lead to spoilage of canning or even cause food poisoning and botulism (an acute infectious disease that results from eating products containing toxins of botulism bacteria).

The recipe can be easily adapted to your own taste preferences by adding your favorite spices and herbs.

Before canning cucumbers should be thoroughly washed and dried. If desired, they can be soaked in cold water for a few hours – this will improve the texture of the finished product. Also do not forget to trim the tips.

It is important to sterilize the jars in which you will be canning cucumbers. There are many different methods: in the oven, in the microwave, steam treatment. Such a process allows you to kill all pathogenic organisms – this will save you from poisoning.

Methods of canning cucumbers

There are several common methods of canning cucumbers, each of which has its own characteristics:

1. Pickling. This is one of the most popular methods. Cucumbers are placed in sterilized jars and poured with a vinegar solution with sugar and salt. This method allows you to preserve the bright flavor and crisp texture.
2. Pickling. Simple and fast technology – in this case, vegetables are simply poured with a salt solution with the addition of spices. There are both cold and hot pickling methods.
3. Fermentation. This method is based on natural fermentation and allows you to get cucumbers with a characteristic sour taste. The fermentation process also increases the shelf life. Vegetables prepared in this way are perfect for salads and appetizers.

When souring, vegetables are not filled with brine. They are added a little salt (it draws out the juice from them, so that further vegetables sour in the natural brine), kneaded or placed under a bend. In the released juice multiply useful lactic acid bacteria, which contribute to the fermentation process.

Storage of canned cucumbers

Chef of the City Farm at VDNH

“The shorter the shelf life, the better. It is no coincidence that it is said that preparations are made for the winter, and we have it only three months a year. And yet it is worth remembering that at home it is not always possible to preserve vegetables the way they are preserved in a factory.”

It is best to store preserves in a cold, dark and dry place, protected from sunlight, for example, in the cellar or refrigerator. According to Rospotrebnadzor, the optimal temperature is from 0 to +10 degrees.

If in hermetically sealed canned cucumbers in the process of storage bloated lids, then such canned cucumbers can not be used – they are breeding bacteria.

After opening the can, cucumbers should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than two weeks. If they have become soft and no longer crunchy, it is better to throw them away, even if the flavor has not changed.

Vegetables should be completely covered with the brine in which they were pickled.

Recipes for canned cucumbers

Pickled cucumbers for winter

Ingredients:

• cucumbers – 1 kg;
• water – 1 liter;
• vinegar 9% – 200 ml;
• sugar – 100 g;
• salt – 50 g;
• garlic – 4-5 cloves;
• dill (fresh or seeds) – to taste;
• black pepper peas – 5-7 pieces.

Preparation:

1. Cucumbers thoroughly rinse and cut off the tips.
2. Put vegetables in sterilized jars, adding garlic cloves, dill and pepper to each jar.
3. In a saucepan boil water and add vinegar, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the ingredients are completely dissolved.
4. Pour the resulting marinade over the cucumbers in the jars.
5. Close the jars with sterilized lids and roll up. Wrap the jars until they cool down completely.
6. Store the preservation in a dark and cool place.

Inlagda grönsaker

Ingredients:

• cucumbers – 1,5 kg;
• water – 1 liter;
• salt – 2 tbsp;
• currant leaves – 5 pieces;
• cherry leaves – 5 pieces;
• horseradish leaves – 2 pcs;
• dill (umbrellas) – 2 pcs.;
• garlic – 4 cloves;
• black pepper peas – 10 pcs.

Preparation:

1. Soak the cucumbers in cold water for 2-3 hours, then rinse them thoroughly.
2. At the bottom of sterilized jars put currant, cherry and horseradish leaves, dill, black pepper and garlic cloves.
3. Tightly put the cucumbers in the jars.
4. Boil water, dissolve salt in it, let the brine cool down to room temperature.
5. Pour the cooled brine over the cucumbers so that the vegetables are completely covered with it.
6. Close the jars with kapron lids and leave for 2-3 days at room temperature for fermentation.
7. After fermentation begins, remove the jars to a cool place (basement or refrigerator) for storage.

Pickled cucumbers with honey and mustard

Ingredients:

• cucumbers – 1 kg;
• water – 1 liter;
• sugar – 3 tbsp;
• salt – 2 tbsp;
• 9% vinegar – 100 ml;
• horseradish leaves – 2 pcs;
• honey – 2 tbsp;
• mustard in the grains – 2 tbsp;
• garlic – 4-5 cloves;
• dill – 1 bunch;
• black pepper peas – 5-6 pieces.

Preparation:

1. Soak cucumbers for 2-3 hours in cold water.
2. In a saucepan boil water, add salt, sugar and honey. Bring to a boil and add vinegar.
3. In sterilized jars put horseradish leaves, dill, mustard seeds, pepper, garlic, then tightly lay the cucumbers with pre-cut tips.
4. Pour hot brine. Make sure that the cucumbers are completely covered with liquid.
5. Jars hermetically close with sterilized lids and leave at room temperature overnight, and then store in the refrigerator.

Cucumber salad

Ingredients:

• Small or medium crunchy cucumbers – 1,5 kg;
• sugar – 10 g;
• salt – 15 g;
• 9% vinegar – 45 ml;
• a bunch of dill.

Preparation:

1. Wash the cucumbers, peel them from the peel, cut them into very thin slices or grate them on a coarse grater.
2. Put the vegetables in a large saucepan, pour one spoonful of table salt without a slide, add one spoonful of salt and three tablespoons of 9% vinegar. Mix well and leave the vegetables for an hour to let them juice.
3. Put a handful of chopped dill in the pot and mix the ingredients once again. Instead of dill, you can add some onion – 60-80 g.
4. Prepare three sterilized jars of 450 ml. Spread the salad in them, leaving about 1 cm of free space at the top.
5. Close the jars. Turn them upside down and leave them to cool completely.

Bon appetit!