Contents
Even in the most successful season in the greenhouse, all tomatoes do not have time to ripen. If you do not pinch the tops in advance, the tomatoes bloom and set fruits until the very cold weather. It is not worth keeping them on the bushes at this time – they can rot. It is better to collect and make delicious preparations for the winter. There are no fewer recipes for such canned food than for red tomatoes, and the taste is no worse.
Dealing with it is very easy. It decomposes not only during any heat treatment, but also when keeping green tomatoes in salt water. But this is exactly how the fermentation process takes place.
Salted green tomatoes with spices are a tasty and healthy preparation for the winter.
Features of fermentation of green tomatoes
The number of tomatoes depends on the volume of the bucket. They can be any, but it is impossible to salt them all together, since they ferment at different times. Therefore, before salting, tomatoes are sorted according to the degree of maturity. Fully ripe tomatoes salt out the fastest.
Greens usually put about 50 g for every kilogram of tomatoes. It can be anything, but traditionally they use currant leaves, horseradish, both leaves and pieces of roots, celery, dill, both seeds and herbs, cherry leaves, some add oak or walnut leaves.
You can add other spicy herbs to fermentation: marjoram, basil, tarragon, mint, lemon balm, catnip, lovage. Each herb will not only change the taste of the final product, but also enrich it with vitamins and minerals.
You won’t get delicious pickled tomatoes without garlic and spices: peppercorns, bay leaves, cloves. The most vigorous hot tomatoes will turn out if you add pods of hot pepper during pickling, everyone determines its amount independently.
Sugar is needed to speed up the fermentation process. If you do not like the sweetish taste in pickled tomatoes, you can do without it, but then pickling will not be so fast.
Tap water should be boiled and cooled. If possible, it is better to take well or spring water – it can be used without boiling.
There are many recipes for pickled tomatoes. Most often they are fermented whole. Barrel tomatoes are good, but you can salt them in any container, its size depends only on the presence of green tomatoes and the needs of the family. Let’s try to cook pickled green tomatoes in a bucket.
Hot Pickled Tomatoes
Red tomatoes according to this recipe are ready in 3 days, for green ones it will take a little longer. For a ten-liter bucket you need:
- about 6 kg of tomatoes;
- 2 bunches of celery branches with petioles and dill with umbrellas;
- a couple of heads of garlic;
- for each liter of brine, 2 tbsp. spoons of sugar and salt.
We prick each tomato with a toothpick and cut out a small part of the pulp along with the stalk.
We prepare a brine from 6 liters of water, adding sugar and salt at the rate indicated in the recipe. It must be boiled and add celery there, first cutting off the upper part with leaves. Keep celery stalks in boiling water for only half a minute. Separate the peeled garlic into cloves. We spread the tomatoes in a bucket, layering with herbs and garlic cloves.
The brine at this time is languishing on a small fire. Pour it into the prepared tomatoes.
This blank can only be made in an enameled bucket; boiling water cannot be poured into a plastic container.
We set a small oppression and wait for the tomatoes to ferment. We take it out to the cold if the brine tastes pleasantly sour.
Cold pickled tomatoes
They will be ready in 2-3 weeks. It is best to choose dense cream for harvesting, but of a small size – these ferment faster.
One puncture should be in the area of attachment of the stalk. You can make a shallow cruciform incision in this place.
We need:
- green tomatoes;
- chilled boiled water;
- sugar;
- salt;
- leaves of currant, horseradish, cherry;
- horseradish roots;
- garlic.
The number of ingredients is determined by the weight of the tomatoes. The brine is prepared according to the above proportions: for 10 liters, 2 cups of salt and a cup of sugar. About 1/3 of the spices with leaves are placed at the bottom of the bucket, then 2-3 layers of tomatoes, some spices with leaves, tomatoes again. We do this until the bucket is full. Do not forget about the garlic cloves and pieces of horseradish roots. Fill with prepared brine and set a small load. We keep in the room. After complete fermentation, we take out to the cold.
There is a recipe for pickled green tomatoes for the winter without brine at all.
Dry pickled green tomatoes
It will require for every 2 kg of tomatoes:
- 3 clove of garlic;
- 2 dill umbrellas;
- 2 sheets of cherries and horseradish;
- 2-3 leaves of cabbage;
- 2-3 teaspoons of sugar and 2 tbsp. spoons of salt.
Each tomato needs to be pricked with a fork or a toothpick at the point of attachment of the stalk. Blanch cabbage leaves in boiling water for about 5 minutes – they will become softer. We put tomatoes in a bucket interspersed with spices, horseradish and cherry leaves, every 2 kg of fruits we fill with sugar and salt. Lay cabbage leaves on top. Installing oppression. If after a day the tomatoes did not give juice, you will have to add brine. To prepare it, dissolve 60 g of salt in a liter of water. The product fermented for the winter is stored in the cold.
Pickled tomatoes according to the following recipe are very similar to barrel tomatoes, but they are cooked in buckets.
Green tomatoes as barrel
We will need:
- green or slightly brown tomatoes – how much will go into the bucket;
- greens and dill umbrellas;
- leaves of cherry, currant, horseradish;
- garlic and hot pepper;
- bell pepper;
- for every 5 liters of brine you need ½ cup of salt, mustard powder and sugar.
At the bottom of the bucket we put a third of all the leaves and spices, then a couple of layers of tomatoes, again leaves, garlic and spices, and so on to the top. A third of all seasonings should go to the layer. The rest is placed on top.
Pour the right amount of brine into a bucket, all components for it are well soluble in water. Installing oppression. We keep it in a room for several days and take it out to a cold place for the winter.
Stuffed fermented tomatoes
If green tomatoes are slightly cut and stuffed, and then fermented, you will get very tasty pickled stuffed tomatoes. Tomatoes are stuffed with herbs with the addition of garlic. You can add carrots and sweet peppers. If you want the taste of the product to be bright, add hot pepper pods.
All the ingredients for stuffing tomatoes need to be chopped, the easiest way to do this is with a blender.
For a bucket in which we will pickle tomatoes, you will need:
- 4 kg of green tomatoes;
- 1,2 kg of sweet pepper;
- 600 g carrots;
- 300 g of garlic;
- 2 bunch of dill and parsley;
- a couple of hot peppers – optional;
- for brine: 3 liters of water and 7 tbsp. spoons of salt.
Grind everything except tomatoes and greens in a blender. Finely chop dill and parsley. We make stuffing mixture. Cut the tomatoes in half or crosswise if they are large. We place a mixture of vegetables in the cut.
We spread them in a bucket and pour cold brine. We place under oppression so that they are completely covered with brine. We keep it warm for a week, then we clean it in the cold for the winter. They are well stored until spring, especially if you put hot pepper or horseradish roots on top.
Green pickled tomatoes are not only a great way to use all the unripe fruits, but also a delicious vitamin preparation for the winter. They are good as an appetizer and will be a great spicy addition to any meal.
