Pickled Crispy Cucumber Recipe

In the summer, when the time for cucumbers begins, crispy lightly salted cucumbers occupy a separate place on our tables. They are valued for their taste and retain the excellent aroma of fresh cucumbers. There are a lot of cooking recipes, and recently the housewives share the secrets of quick salting that do not affect the taste of the popular snack. Let’s talk about how to cook crispy salted cucumbers at home in a cold and hot way.

Secrets of cooking

Today you can cook salted cucumbers in various ways:

• in a large container (for example, in a saucepan);
• in the bank (including for the winter);
• in a package and so on.

As a rule, the ripening season on our beds of fresh cucumbers begins in June. They are eaten fresh, in salads and salted. Despite the simplicity of traditional recipes, making crispy lightly salted cucumbers is an art. Someone loves spicy cucumbers, someone, on the contrary, does not tolerate a lot of spices.

Consider several options for salting cucumbers:

• dry salt;
• cold;
• hot.

Let’s figure out which of them is considered the fastest and will not affect the crispy properties of cucumbers. Let’s talk about the secrets, since they are very important in the cooking process:

• so that the cucumbers are salted as quickly as possible, choose small vegetables, not large ones;
• it is also appropriate to cut the fruit into halves and quarters and make punctures with a fork;
• vegetables for salting should be the same size, so their taste will be uniform;
• two hours before cooking, it is better to put them in clean cold water, so they will retain the crunch;
• when salting in a jar, you should not ram them very tightly, this will affect the crispy properties;
• the tips are always trimmed before cooking;
• when preparing salted cucumbers in brine, you do not need to close the jar or pan tightly, disrupting the fermentation process.

Using these tricks, the housewives will easily cope with the task. 

Spices and additives for cucumbers

Let’s talk about the ingredients. This is very important, because the quality and taste of the dish depends on them. So, cucumbers should be small and fresh. It is advisable to collect them from the garden right before salting.

As for the water when using brine, it should be clean and preferably bottled or spring. It needs very little, but the quality of the water will affect the taste of the finished product.

Let’s talk about greenery. Classical recipes traditionally use:

• dill;
• horseradish leaves and root;
• cherry leaves;
• parsley;
• blackcurrant leaves.

Tarragon, anise umbrellas, oak leaves can also be added to this list. A harmonious combination will allow the hostess, having experimented, to create her own unique recipe for lightly salted cucumbers.

As for spices, traditionally this list includes:

• Bay leaf;
• garlic;
• hot peppers;
• carnations.

You can add allspice and other spices, experimenting with the spiciness of the appetizer. And, of course, we can not help but talk about salt. This is the main component of salted cucumbers, and a lot depends on its quality. Salt should be coarse and not iodized. It is better to use good quality sea salt, cucumbers love just that.

Additionally, when pickling cucumbers, you can use sour apples, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, celery and even lime.

Quick Salted Cucumber Recipes

Consider a few interesting recipes for lightly salted instant cucumbers. After reviewing them, you can use any you like or adopt some tips.

Otherwise, the cucumbers will soon become too salty.

When using cold brine

When using this recipe, lightly salted cucumbers will be ready no earlier than in two days. This method is considered classic, but, alas, not the fastest. Its essence lies in the fact that cucumbers are poured with cold pickle with spices. It is made from water and salt in the right proportions right before pouring.

So, for cooking you will need:

• one kilogram of cucumbers;
• one garlic head (small or medium);
• black pepper – 8-10 peas;
• currant leaves – 6-8 pieces;
• cherry leaves – 3-4 pieces;
• a bunch of parsley and dill (you can use a large mixture or one small one at a time).

You can also add 2 sour apples. Cucumbers stand an hour or two in cold water, and then cut off the tips. They accumulate nitrates, so it is better to get rid of them. Greens for cucumbers are cut finely, garlic is squeezed out through a press or chopped finely. Now everything fits into the banks. If you make this appetizer with apples, then they must first be cut into four parts.

Laying in jars is done with alternating ingredients. Dill and parsley can be put on top. The brine is prepared very simply: salt (1,5 tablespoons) is mixed with cold water (1 liter). It is better to cook a little more brine at once and pour cucumbers to the top with it. Banks do not close the lids, you can cover with gauze and put away for two days. After this time, the cucumbers will be salted and become the decoration of your table!

When using hot brine

This recipe allows the hostess to prepare a delicious appetizer of lightly salted cucumbers in just 8 hours. This is convenient, because you can leave them to prepare for the night, and in the morning to please the household. So, for these salted cucumbers you will need:

• one kilogram of cucumbers;
• honey – 10 grams;
• fresh hot red or green pepper – 1-2 pieces to taste;
• bay leaf – 2 pieces;
• garlic head – one medium size;
• salt;
• dill with umbrellas – 1-2 pieces;
• cherry leaves – 5-10 pieces;
• currant leaves – 5-10 pieces;
• horseradish leaves – 10-15 pieces;
• vodka – 20-40 ml.

All greens are thoroughly washed, dried on a napkin. At this time, cucumbers are soaked in cold water. Cucumbers are standardly trimmed and placed in a saucepan or glass jar. If a pan is used, let it be enameled. Hot peppers need to be cut into 3-4 parts, pass the garlic through a press. All greens are cut coarsely and placed in a pan or jar. Greens can be laid on the bottom or distributed proportionally.

Now all the ingredients need to be poured with brine. It will be hot, but not boiling. Boil 1 liter of water, add one dessert spoon of honey to it. Now add salt in the amount of 3-4 tablespoons without a slide.

To enhance the spicy taste, you can add a few black peppercorns, cloves and thyme seeds. Hot pepper will give some bitterness. If someone does not like spicy taste, you should do without pepper.

In the same way, salted cucumbers are prepared for the winter. To do this, first prepare a cold brine in the following proportion: 3-4 tablespoons of salt per two liters of water. Just before pouring the brine into the jars, bring it to a boil and turn it off. In this case, it is important to observe the proportions, because the cucumbers will be in the brine longer and you need them to be lightly salted, not salty.

Dry salted cucumber recipe

It is still unknown who exactly came up with pickling cucumbers in a bag, but this particular method is the easiest and fastest. Depending on the size of the fruit, whether they are cut into pieces or not, you can get ready-made cucumbers in 20-30 minutes.

This method is also convenient if you decide to go out of town and spend time in nature. By pickling cucumbers, you will quickly get a delicious summer snack.

Cucumbers, crispy lightly salted instant, the recipe of which will be presented below, will be obtained in 2-3 hours if they are not pierced with a fork. We will need:

• 1,5 kilograms of cucumbers;
• 6-8 peas of black pepper;
• 4-5 allspice peas;
• a bunch of dill – 1 piece;
• dill umbrella – 1 piece;
• lime – 4 pieces;
• 1 teaspoon sugar;
• sprigs of lemon balm – 5 pieces;
• 3,5 tablespoons of salt.

Cucumbers can be placed in water in advance, if possible. In parallel, you need to prepare a dressing. To do this, grind both types of pepper, 2 tablespoons of salt, sugar and zest of all limes in a mortar.

Now finely chop the greens, mint along with the twigs. Squeeze juice from limes. Now you can move on to cucumbers. The tips are cut, be sure to pierce the fruit with a fork in three or four places. If you want to get a ready-made snack in 20-30 minutes, you need to cut them into halves or quarters. So, cucumbers will pickle faster. Now the fruits are placed in a bag, greens are placed there, a mixture from a mortar, the bag is closed and everything is thoroughly mixed by shaking it. The bag is reopened, lime juice is poured in and the rest of the salt is added. Then the bag is closed again and its contents are mixed by shaking. Turn the bag over every 10 minutes.

So that the juice from the cucumbers does not drip, you can use two packages. Of course, this is not a classic pickled cucumber recipe. If you want to get a taste very familiar to many, you need to take only cucumbers, dill, peppercorns, salt and garlic. Below is a detailed video with such a recipe:

Conclusion

In this case, you can experiment, because, as you know, there are no comrades for the taste and color.

If you know these simple secrets for making lightly salted cucumbers, you can delight your friends and the whole family with a delicious instant snack all summer long. Enjoy your meal!