To ensure that your winter preparations do not disappoint, it is not enough to follow the recipe and control the process. There are several subtle nuances, the lack of attention to which can spoil the pickled cucumbers.
Lack of calibration
For winter preparations, you should choose small (up to 10 cm), whole, even, regularly shaped fruits. The choice of vegetables suitable for canning is called calibration. Carefully selected cucumbers will be evenly distributed in the jar, marinated well and will be crispy.
Unsuitable variety
Trying to marinate salad vegetables will fail. They will be soft and tasteless. It is easy to distinguish such cucumbers: they are large, with a thick skin and a smooth surface. Varieties suitable for marinating are dark in color with a pimply thin skin covered with small dark spines.
Long-term storage
Cucumbers that were picked from the bush more than a day ago are a bad choice for winter storage. Vegetables that are starting to wilt will wrinkle and become soft when marinated. All other ingredients of the marinade should also be fresh. Fresh greens without signs of drying out, wilting and rotting are needed. Neglecting this rule can lead to the fact that the jars with the preparations will swell and then explode.
Iodized salt
Supplementing the diet with minerals is a healthy habit.But iodized salt is not suitable for pickling cucumbers. The vegetables will have an unpleasant taste and will not be crispy. Preference should be given to regular coarse table salt.
Dirty container
Jars washed with soap or other detergent are not sterile. In this form they are unsuitable for preservation. Containers and lids should be thoroughly washed with baking soda and rinsed well. It is better to avoid using dishwashing detergents and give preference to laundry soap. Clean containers are sterilized in a hot oven, microwave or over steam.
Violation of the recipe
The marinade contains vinegar, which acts as a preservative and food additive. Its absence will cause the jar to explode. But you shouldn’t exceed the concentration of vinegar in the hope that a large amount will ensure long-term storage. Its excess in the marinade makes cucumbers sour and wrinkled.
Purity, moderation, freshness - these are the three main conditions that must be observed in order to enjoy delicious, crispy homemade pickled cucumbers in winter.
