How to make pickled apples

Not every housewife soaked apples at least once in her life. Today, this type of harvesting fruits or vegetables for the winter is not very popular. And absolutely in vain! Urination is a great alternative to conventional preservation. Aggressive preservatives, such as vinegar, for example, are not involved in this process, so pickled apples can be eaten by everyone: adults, children, and those who are on a diet. Urination brine is made up of two main ingredients: salt and sugar. Other components may vary depending on the recipe and personal preferences of the hostess.

How to properly soak apples so that they lie all winter will be discussed in this article. Here you can also find some interesting proven recipes with the addition of herbs and berries.

How to cook pickled apples

Soaked fruits are good because they retain almost all vitamins and a pleasant apple flavor – until the end of winter, you can eat fruits that will be as healthy as fresh ones. The taste of soaked products is very unusual: it is something between preservation and fresh vegetables and fruits.

Lactic acid acts as a preservative in urine, which is formed due to the salt and sugar that make up the brine. You need to store such blanks in a dark and cool place with a stable temperature – the basement is optimal for this purpose.

You need to soak apples correctly, as it has been done since ancient times:

1. You need to choose fruits of late or winter varieties. Apples should be firm and crispy. If the fruits are too hard, it is recommended to keep them for about three weeks until they are fully ripe. Antonovka is optimally suited for urination, you can also take the fruits of Titovka, Pepin or Anis.
2. apples should be sweet, sour fruits will not be stored for a long time – they will need to be eaten in 3-4 weeks. Whereas sugary varieties can be safely stored in brine until the start of the next season (May-June).
3. First of all, it should check all apples for wormholes, dark spots and other damage – such fruits are not suitable for urination. One spoiled apple can lead to the fermentation of all the others, such a dish can no longer be called tasty.
4. For urination, you need to choose wooden or glass container, it was in such tubs and bottles that fruits were soaked a hundred years ago. But more modern dishes made of enamelled steel or food-grade plastic are also suitable. 3
5. In the first 4-5 days, the brine will be actively absorbed by apples, so it must be constantly topped up. It is impossible for the upper fruits to be bare, this will spoil all the apples in the container.
6. For soaking fruit need press. To do this, a container with apples (pot, bucket or basin) is covered with a flat lid or plate, the diameter of which should be less than the diameter of the dishes. From above, the plate is pressed with a load: a weight, a stone, a jar of water or something else.
7. Optimal the temperature for urinating apples is 15-22 degrees. At lower rates, fermentation of the brine may stop, which will lead to peroxidation of the fruit. If the room is too hot, instead of lactic acid, butyric acid begins to stand out, which leads to the appearance of bitterness in soaked apples.
8. Washing dishes for urination is better with sodaand then rinse well with boiled water. This will reduce the likelihood of mold and mildew.
9. The brine is prepared with the addition of a wide variety of ingredients., it can be flour, kvass, sugar, honey, basil, lemon balm, mint, mustard, lavender, cinnamon, thyme, apple, cherry, raspberry or black currant leaves.

Recipe for pickled apples with honey and mint

A simple recipe that requires the most common ingredients: ripe apples, raspberry leaves, cherries and currants, mint or lemon balm. The brine in this case is prepared in the following proportions:

• 10 L of water;
• 300 g of honey;
• 150 g salt;
• 100 g of malt.

Photos of apples prepared according to this recipe can be seen below.

Currant leaves are laid out in an enameled or glass container with a thin layer, apples are placed on top in two rows. Then the apples need to be covered with cherry and raspberry leaves, again lay out two rows of fruits. The topmost layer should be assorted leaves, for a particularly piquant taste, it is recommended to put a couple of sprigs of mint here.

Now the apples are covered with a lid and pressed down with a load. The brine is prepared by dissolving all the ingredients in warm boiled water. When the liquid has cooled, pour apples with it so that they are completely covered. There is no need to remove the load before this!

Every day you need to check if the fruits are covered with brine. If not, you will have to add fluid. Bare fruit will spoil quickly, so it’s best to prepare a little more urination brine right away.

Put a container with fruit in a warm and dark place with a temperature of about 15-18 degrees. After a month, you can lower the workpiece into the basement, and after another couple of weeks, try to see if the apples turned out delicious.

Recipe for soaked apples with cabbage

For this complex dish you will need the following ingredients:

• white cabbage – 4 kg;
• medium-sized apples – 3 kg;
• 3 carrots;
• 3 tablespoons of salt;
• 2 spoons of sugar.

To prepare such a blank, you first need to wash and clean all the products. Carrots are rubbed on a coarse grater. Chop cabbage (medium-sized) and mix with carrots, salt, sugar. Knead this mass with your hands so that the juice stands out.

Apples are laid out in a bowl, alternating layers with a carrot-cabbage mixture. All gaps between the fruits must be filled so that there are no voids. When all layers are laid, apples are poured with cabbage juice. If this brine is not enough, prepare an additional one: for a glass of warm water, a spoonful of salt and a spoonful of sugar.

From above, the fruits are covered with whole cabbage leaves, put a plate and a load. For 10-14 days, urination occurs at room temperature, then the workpiece is lowered into the cellar, and after a couple of weeks the apples are ready to eat.

Recipe for pickled apples with spicy mustard

You can make the taste of apples even more piquant by adding mustard to the brine.

For cooking, you will need apples and brine, which is prepared from:

• 10 L of water;
• piles of salt;
• a glass of sugar;
• 3 spoons of mustard.

First of all, prepare a brine for urinating. To do this, pour all the ingredients into water, mix and bring the mixture to a boil. Before pouring, the brine must cool.

In a washed container, straw or currant (cherry, raspberry) leaves are placed on the bottom. Spread apples on top and pour them with chilled brine.

They put it under oppression and keep it warm for several days, after which the soaked fruits are transferred to the basement.

Soaked apples with rowan

For cooking you will need:

• durum apples – 20 kg;
• bunches of mountain ash or berries – 3 kg;
• 0,5 kg of honey (can be replaced with sugar, but only as a last resort);
• salt – 50 g;
• water – 10 l.

Apples and mountain ash are thoroughly washed and laid out in a saucepan, evenly distributing fruits and berries. Sugar or honey, salt are dissolved in boiled, slightly cooled water, the brine is stirred and allowed to cool completely to room temperature.

Pour the fruits with brine, spread a clean cloth or several layers of gauze on top, put a lid and oppression.

These simple recipes, and, most importantly, photos of delicious preparations, will certainly become an incentive, and every housewife will try to diversify her family’s winter diet with healthy and delicious pickled fruits.