Pickled cucumbers become cloudy (fermented) in a jar: how to fix, causes of cloudiness during pickling, pickling, canning

After seaming, cucumbers become cloudy in jars – lovers of homemade preparations often face such a problem. To prevent turbidity or save the brine, you need to know why it loses transparency.

List of reasons why cucumber jars become cloudy

The general reason why cucumbers become cloudy during seaming is always the same – fermentation processes begin in the brine. Due to the activity of microorganisms, not only jars with cucumbers become cloudy during salting, the fruits themselves change their taste and deteriorate, the lids on jars with blanks swell.

With proper salting and canning, cucumbers in jars should not ferment. If they become cloudy, this usually indicates several mistakes made.

If the blanks are cloudy, then the fermentation process is going on in the jar

Why did the cucumbers in the jar become cloudy immediately after closing

Not only those cucumbers that have stood in the bank for many months in a row and began to deteriorate are becoming cloudy. Sometimes the solution becomes opaque almost immediately after the fruit is rolled up.

This means only one thing – dirt and a large number of microorganisms got into the jar. Most often, blanks become cloudy due to poorly washed cucumbers before canning and poorly sterilized jars. It is likely that there are leftovers of detergent or pieces of food on the walls of the container, unnoticed dirt often accumulates on the neck of the jar or under the lid.

Why pickled cucumbers in a jar become cloudy

When pickling, fruits also often become cloudy, and this can happen for many reasons. In addition to poorly washed and not fully sterilized cans, there are such moments:

• violation of the pickling recipe – incorrect proportions or missed steps in the process of harvesting vegetables;
• the use of low-quality or inappropriate ingredients, for example, the use of expired vinegar or citric acid instead of vinegar;
• unnoticed damage to the jar or lid – chips or cracks in the neck, loose lid.

It is important to take only fresh ingredients, do not violate their proportions and do not replace them with other components that seem similar in effect.

Violation of the selected recipe leads to turbidity of the solution in jars

Why cucumbers become cloudy in jars when salted

Salting seems to be a very simple procedure, but even after it, jars of cucumbers often become cloudy and explode. This happens for the following reasons:

• the use of the wrong cucumbers – not all varieties can be salted, pickled and canned, salad types are not suitable for pickling and quickly become cloudy;
• use of unsuitable salt – only universal edible salt can be taken for blanks, iodized and sea salt are not suitable in this case.

As in other cases, when salting, vegetables also become cloudy due to dirt getting into the workpiece or poorly sterilized containers.

Why is pickle in jars of cucumbers cloudy

Sometimes it happens that when all the conditions for canning are met, the vegetables remain strong and crunchy, but when pickling cucumbers, the brine becomes cloudy. This can be explained by the following reasons:

• poor-quality water used for salting or canning, if it contains excess impurities, the solution is expected to become cloudy;
• the presence of nitrates in purchased fruits – after a long stay in the liquid, chemicals leave the pulp of vegetables, but the brine deteriorates;
• unsuitable salt used for salting or canning, or spoiled vinegar, it becomes almost immediately clear that the brine in the jar of cucumbers has become cloudy, although the fruits themselves can retain their color and dense structure for some time.

What to do if the brine in pickled and pickled cucumbers is cloudy

It is very dangerous to use spoiled blanks, but if cucumbers in jars become cloudy, which were completely fresh yesterday, then in many cases they can be saved. The main thing is to first inspect the cloudy workpiece and make sure that the vegetables really have not lost their quality and deserve resuscitation.

A cloudy workpiece can be redone

How to save cloudy canned cucumbers

If canned cucumbers become cloudy, it is not necessary to throw them away. A workpiece that has recently lost transparency can be saved as follows:

• open the rolled up jars and pour the cloudy solution into the pan;
• pour boiling water into jars for vegetables and herbs up to the very neck;
• leave the vegetables in hot water, and at this time put the muddy saline solution on fire and boil;
• boil for 5-8 minutes, then add a couple more tablespoons of vinegar to the liquid.

Then the hot water from the fruit jar is drained, and the processed brine with increased volumes of vinegar is poured back. The cans are rolled up tightly again, while making sure that the workpiece is completely sealed.

What to do if pickles ferment

Most often, cucumber fruits become cloudy in a jar during the salting process, since conservation occurs without the use of additional ingredients. However, even in this case, pickles can be saved and stop lactic fermentation in the early stages.

If cucumbers ferment in a jar, but the lid does not swell, then pickled vegetables are reanimated as follows:

• the jar is opened and the spoiled brine is poured out;
• the fruits are removed and scalded with boiling water in a separate container, and then left in it for 10 minutes;
• a new brine is being prepared for vegetables, but this time a little vinegar is added to it, which will serve as a natural preservative;
• vegetables are put back into the jar and poured with fresh saline, after which they are tightly closed.

You can save only those workpieces on which the lids are not swollen

How to Remake Cloudy Pickled Cucumbers

If the pickled cucumbers in the jar become cloudy, this usually indicates serious violations when creating the workpiece. The vinegar in the marinade acts as a good preservative, and if the brine has become cloudy, despite its presence, then quite a lot of microorganisms have got into the jar.

To remake pickled vegetables, you must:

• pour the entire cloudy solution from the jar into the pan and pour the vegetables into a separate container;
• treat the fruits with fresh boiling water, which will help kill likely bacteria;
• leave the vegetables in hot water, and meanwhile boil the solution in a clean saucepan for at least 5 minutes;
• re-sterilize the jar and lid.

After that, the fruits are again laid in a container and poured with brine, not forgetting to add a little more fresh vinegar to it. It is necessary to roll up the jar for the second time especially carefully so that the workpiece is completely sealed.

Is it possible to eat cloudy canned cucumbers

If the fruits harvested for the winter become cloudy, this does not always mean that they have irretrievably deteriorated. Therefore, many people have a question – is it necessary to pickle and salt the vegetables again, or you can even eat them cloudy.

Do not eat cloudy vegetables – it is dangerous to health

If the brine in pickled cucumbers has become cloudy, it is strictly not recommended to eat such fruits without processing. Botulism bacteria may be present in the jar, and they pose a great danger to humans. At best, the harvest will cause an upset stomach, and at worst, it will lead to a serious illness with a potential fatal outcome.

It must be remembered that when cucumbers become cloudy, they must be carefully examined before re-pickling or pickling. It is allowed to redo the workpiece only if the vegetables have not softened, have not acquired an unpleasant color and aroma, and the lid on the jar with muddy brine has not had time to swell. If the vegetables ferment, and the lid swells at the same time, and an unpleasant smell comes from the workpiece, then the fruits definitely need to be thrown away. It is pointless and dangerous to revive them – they are no longer suitable for consumption.

A few tips on how to salt and pickle cucumbers so as not to become cloudy

A few simple recommendations help to safely preserve vegetables:

1. Water for salting and pickling is better to take distilled or spring. Tap water may contain excess impurities even after boiling, and the fruits in it become cloudy more often.
2. It is better to salt and preserve products grown on your own plot without the use of chemicals. Only special varieties should be taken for pickling, which are distinguished by their small size, crisp dense pulp and small hard spikes on the peel.
3. Before canning, vegetables should be soaked in cold water for several hours. At the same time, not only likely harmful substances will come out of them, but also air from internal voids, and dirt will be washed off qualitatively – soaked vegetables roam less often.

When carrying out canning, many housewives add several small tomatoes to cucumbers. Usually the brine does not ferment after this – tomatoes prevent unwanted processes.

Tomatoes in pickles help prevent haze

Conclusion

After seaming, cucumbers become cloudy in jars if the canning technology has been violated, or inappropriate ingredients were used for the brine. If there is no swelling on the lids of the workpiece, you can try to save it, then you will not have to throw away the vegetables.