Cucumbers are cheap to buy at harvest time. But they can also be easily cultivated in a greenhouse or in a container on the balcony with good yields. With a profitable harvest, there is an opportunity to pickle cucumbers yourself for the winter.

Pickled cucumbers can be seasoned according to your mood

Which cucumbers are suitable for preserving?

Cucumbers are the best-known cucumbers. Everyone knows the long fruit that, when sliced and seasoned well, makes a delicious side dish. Exactly this cucumber salad can also be preserved.

Pickled cucumbers already reveal how they are processed by their name. These are small to medium-sized cucumbers that can be preserved in jars in a variety of ways.

What are the variations of pickled cucumbers?

The best known are the sour or pickles. These are marinated with other ingredients in a vinegar marinade.

Cooking the gherkins is a little more complex, since a variety of spices are added to the preserving brew. There are no limits to personal creativity here. Examples of suitable spices are:

  • dill
  • onions
  • mustard seeds
  • bay leaves
  • juniper berries
  • pimento
  • garlic
  • chili
  • mustard

Try putting in a few slices of carrots, some peppers or small onions along with the cucumbers.

A third variant are the pickles, pickled in a brine. The lactic acid fermentation that takes place preserves the vegetables. Vitamin C is formed during this type of fermentation. This makes the gherkins a healthy source of vitamins in the cold season.

Canned cucumbers can be kept for several months. An opened jar should be kept in the fridge and eaten within a few days.

Important steps in pickling cucumbers

First of all, you need a large pot for the brew and enough mason jars. Stand here

  • Jars with screw cap
  • Glasses with swing top
  • and jars with separate lid and rubber ring

to disposal. Use the glasses that suit you. Before you can pickle cucumbers in it, jars and rubber or lids must be sterilized. Put everything in boiling water for 10 minutes or put the containers in the oven at 100 degrees for the same time.

  1. Now scrub the cucumbers neatly clean under running water with a vegetable brush.
  2. For salad, the cucumbers must be peeled if they are sprayed. Cut the cucumbers into thin slices.
  3. Cut off the stalks and the ends of the blossoms from the gherkins. Bitter substances could have been stored here.
  4. Cucumbers will stay crisp in the jar if salted before preserving overnight.
  5. The next day, drain the cucumber water, rinse the cucumbers under running water and prepare a vinegar decoction.

Of course you can use a ready-made cucumber infusion from the trade for pickling. However, keep in mind that this industrially produced infusion contains preservatives. It makes more sense to make your own brew. For this you need water and a good vinegar, mix both ingredients in a ratio of 1:1. Add salt and sugar, taste the brew to your taste.

You can now add spices of your choice to the infusion. Dill, mustard seeds, juniper berries, onions,
Garlic cloves, but also a handful of other vegetable bits. There are no limits to your imagination here.

  1. Boil the brew with all the special ingredients.
  2. Meanwhile, fill the cucumbers in the prepared jars.
  3. Pour the hot broth over the vegetables. Fill the jar to about 1cm below the rim, the vegetables should be completely covered.
  4. Seal the jars.

Pickling the cucumbers

As soon as the jars are filled and sealed, you can boil them down. Use an automatic preserving cooker, a large saucepan or the oven.

In the preserving machine

Do not place the jars too close together in the container. They should not touch each other, as the heat generated could cause them to burst. Fill with water until the glasses are about halfway in the water. Close the alarm kettle and boil the jars for 25 minutes at 90 degrees. Let the glasses cool down a bit in the kettle. Then carefully remove them and cover them with a tea towel until they are completely cool.

In the oven

Preheat the oven and place the jars in the drip tray. Pour water until the glasses stand 2 cm in the water. Wake the cucumbers at about 190 degrees for half an hour. Let the glasses cool down a bit in the oven first. Then take them out and cover them with a tea towel to cool completely.

In a pot on the stovetop

Place a board or a heat-resistant cloth in the pot and place the glasses on it. Top up with water until the glasses are halfway submerged. Close the pot and heat it all up. As soon as the water boils, turn the heat down a little and cook the jars for 30 minutes. Here, too, let the preserving jars cool down in the pot before you cover them with a cloth and let them cool down completely.

Category:

Vegetable garden