Puff, sweat, preserve cucumbers for the winter, and they turn out tasteless. Unfortunately, this happens. It's a shame for the spent products, time and effort. Why are cucumbers not crunching, tasteless, smell bad? Let's look at some common mistakes!
Why cucumbers are soft, do not crunch
Elastic and crispy pickled cucumbers are most valued. But they are not always obtained like that. Well, if they are just a little lethargic. It is much worse when they are soft, falling apart, empty inside, of an incomprehensible color. The main thing that needs to be learned is that special pickling varieties are used for canning. Salad varieties for workpieces are not suitable. Ideal small cucumbers, dense, without seeds and always fresh. The optimum length is from 5 to 12 cm. If they have already managed to wither, then soak in cold water.
For what other reasons, cucumbers do not crunch:
- Little vinegar. It is necessary not only to strictly observe the proportions indicated in the recipe, but also to check the concentration. On average, 1 tbsp. l vinegar 9%.
- Increased sterilization time. As a result, cucumbers are boiled, obtained soft, gray, taste is lost.
- Do not add horseradish. It is this leaflet that is responsible for the crunch and gives its own taste. If there is no green horseradish, then you can introduce a piece of root.
An important rule. For canning, it is important to choose the freshest and highest quality vegetables. If they knowingly wilted, deteriorated, there are traces of rot, then you do not need to try to identify them in this way.
Salt and sugar: we analyze the proportions
Sometimes cucumbers are crisp, green, but completely tasteless, like grass. Our ancestors laid an incomplete stack of salt on a three-liter jar of cucumbers. This is approximately 80 grams. Sugar was not always added, but with it it is much tastier. Usually, twice as much sugar as salt is added to pickled cucumbers. Tomatoes love sugar, they drive even more sand. If you want to get just pickles, then sand is excluded.
Classic pickle on a three-liter jar of cucumbers:
- 3 tablespoons of salt;
- 6 tablespoons of sugar;
- water to the top.
Salt with sugar and water is usually boiled. If the cucumbers are pickled in a drain method without sterilization, then the first time they are injected simply with boiling water, heated, drained, then spices are added, and boiled again.
If cucumbers are prepared without vinegar, but with citric acid, then it is introduced into boiling brine, immediately turned off, poured into jars. Vinegar is poured under the lid immediately before laying, it can not be boiled.
Spices: how much is it possible?
Without aromatic spices, you can close tomatoes, but not cucumbers. So it is customary to add fragrant greens, pepper, garlic and other products to jars. But it is very important not to go too far with them. Otherwise, not very pleasant taste, even bitterness, will appear. Most often, it gives a bay leaf. On a three-liter jar you need to lay one small piece. During storage, it will give a rich aroma.
What else gives a strong aroma:
- peppercorns;
- cloves;
- coriander.
The second controversial moment is greens. Mistresses like to combine dill with parsley, which is better not to do, lay one thing. Also, do not additionally peel the garden. Currant, cherry leaves are good in tomatoes, you should not add them to cucumbers, and even all together. Plus, the necessary horseradish and it turns out that the bank has more grass than vegetables. Cucumbers turn out to be tasteless, too spicy, not everyone likes this preservation. The only thing that can be laid without measure is garlic. But why? 1-2 cloves per can are enough.
Helpful advice. All leaves and additives should be washed and dried before laying in jars. The more greens used, the greater the likelihood of fermentation.
Why do cucumbers get cloudy?
It's a shame when dregs appeared in a jar of cucumbers, as if someone had added milk. The same brine is obtained if you add mustard powder. It is a preservative, often used in preservation. But with the addition of mustard, cucumbers do not disappear. If they become cloudy for another reason, then an unpleasant taste and smell appears, the vegetables become sour, the lid swells.
Why the pickle in the cucumbers became cloudy:
- Sterility was not respected. Cans and lids must be steamed or heated. The water used is clean, preferably from a filter and must be boiled.
- Low quality vegetables. If a cucumber has already started to disappear, it will ruin the whole can. The same applies to additional ingredients. The leaves also need to be washed, dried.
- Trash caught in salt or sugar. It happens. For conservation, you need to open new packs. Never use salt and sugar from a salt shaker and sugar bowl, crumbs, specks of dust can be found in them.
- Used iodized salt. No matter how much this is said, many housewives still do not know. Only pure rock salt without additives is suitable for preservation.
- There is air. The most common cause is a poorly screwed cap. You need to inspect it, check the seaming key, and immediately turn the jar over. If it is not tightly closed, then bubbles will rise to the bottom.
Sometimes housewives try to save clouded cucumbers. They open, washed, re-lay spices, pour boiling water. But is it worth it? If the fermentation process is already running, then it is better not to risk it, not to spend additional time and energy.
The secrets of cooking delicious cucumbers in jars
- If bitter cucumbers have grown, then you do not need to preserve them, the unpleasant taste will not disappear. It is better to peel and use for summer salad or roll up pieces for the winter.
- In the old days, only well or spring water was used for canning. With brine bleach is not the best solution. If there is no way to go to the spring, then it is wiser to purchase water in bottles.
- To pickles pickled faster, cut off the tips from them. If in the coming months it is not planned to try the harvesting, then you can mortgage it in banks entirely.
- You can preserve cucumbers immediately with tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers. It will turn out a wonderful assortment.
- Vinegar, sugar, salt are always laid strictly according to the norms specified in the recipe. The ingredients must be measured with the same spoon or through a scale.
