Salting cucumbers for the winter in a barrel is the most environmentally friendly way of home preservation. Thanks to him, the cucumbers turn out to be crispy, elastic, retain a maximum of nutrients and remain delicious until the end of the cold. Learn how to do it right and get the perfect pickles with a special taste and aroma.
Selection and preparation of cucumbers
For laying in a barrel exclusively cucumbers of late varieties are suitable. The size of the fruits is 8–15 cm, it is better to pick them up about the same size in order to achieve the same salting over the entire height of the barrel.
Important! It is not recommended to use vegetables that are small in size and overripe (starting to turn yellow) for salting, because they can quickly soften and crush in the process.
Pickles for pickling should be as fresh as possible. Their preparation consists in a thorough washing, after which all vegetables are folded into a large container, poured with cold water and left for 5-6 hours. If you miss this stage, then pickles can turn out with voids inside.
Cooking utensils
In order to salt cucumbers you will need:
- Oak barrel. The recipe suggests that the volume can be any, including the possibility of pickling cucumbers in a tub enameled in a large container, but the larger the capacity, the higher the concentration of beneficial bacteria for fermentation and starter culture, which means the process will be more successful.
- A wooden circle, slightly smaller than the diameter of the barrel.
- Oppression.
- Linen or linen fabric.
Did you know? Cucumbers are better to salt on the growing moon, then they turn out to be especially strong and crispy.
Cold pickling cucumbers in a barrel for the winter
Type of dish: appetizer.
Difficulty in cooking: easy cooking.
Ingredients
The proportions of brine salt depend on the size of the cucumbers.
From the calculation for every 10 liters of water you need to take salt:
- 850–900 g - for large;
- 750–800 g - for medium;
- 650–700 g - for small cucumbers.
If you have a larger or smaller container for salting, then the amount of ingredients increases or decreases proportionally. The calculation of the amount of salt for the brine remains the same.
Important! Salt for salting is selected ordinary table, coarse, without any additives.
Step by step recipe
1 barrel for 50 l 60 minutes
dill with stems and umbrellas
1.5–2 kg
peeled horseradish root
150-200 g
blackcurrant leaves
300 g
tarragon (optional)
100 g
medium hot hot red pepper
2-3 pods
Energy value per 100 g:
- About 2 weeks before the alleged pickling, it is worth inspecting the container and preparing it. If the barrel is wooden, then it is thoroughly washed, soaked and steamed. Immediately before salting, its walls are rubbed with garlic to avoid mold.
- On the eve of laying cucumbers, vegetables must be selected and prepared.
- The greens that are indicated in the recipe are washed and dried. Dill and tarragon are cut into parts of 15–20 cm.
- Horseradish root is washed, cleaned and cut into rings with a thickness of approximately 1 cm.
- Preparing a salt brine for pouring: 10 liters of water must be heated to +25 ... + 30 ° C, dissolve the salt norm, strain and leave to cool.
- The leaves of horseradish and blackcurrant, dill, tarragon, taken in about 25% of the total volume, are placed on the bottom of the barrel. The horseradish leaves are the first to line the bottom.
- Then a layer of cucumbers is laid tightly to each other. Vegetables are laid out standing up, "nose" down. The layer is covered with a mixture of herbs and spices. Stacking vegetables alternate with greens to the top of the barrel. Greens should be the topmost layer, it is covered with horseradish leaves.
- After preparing all the layers, the cucumbers are poured with brine so that the liquid completely covers all the layers.
- If you have an open barrel, then the cucumbers are covered with linen cloth, put a circle and oppress it. If you have a tub, then it is just corked with a lid.
- A container with cucumbers is left for 2-3 days in a room with a temperature of + 18 ... + 20 ° C for the fermentation process.
- Next, the container with cucumbers is moved to a cool room to complete the fermentation process. Usually it is 30–35 days.
- In the early days, the level of brine should be monitored. If it drops significantly, then it is necessary to top up.
Video: pickling cucumbers in a tub
Video recipe
Cold pickling cucumbers in a barrel for winterFeatures of storage of blanks
The peculiarity of storage of pickles is associated with their low acidity. Therefore, for aging it is impossible to leave the barrel warm, otherwise the product will lose its hardness and lose taste. The optimum temperature is about + 1 ° C.
Did you know? Mold on the brine surface can be avoided by pouring dry mustard powder on top of it.
Homemade crispy pickles in a barrel can be tasted in about a month. If during the process you followed the recipe and took into account all the nuances of pickling and storage, then cucumbers can be stored until spring.
