Pickled cucumbers Emerald: a recipe for the winter

The green peel of cucumbers owes its color to chlorophyll. It is unstable, easily destroyed when exposed to high temperatures and acids. Cucumbers usually change color to olive during canning. This does not affect the taste, but at the festive table you really want everything to be perfect. Emerald Cucumbers for the winter got their name for a reason. They are tasty, crispy and as green as in summer.

Cucumbers Emerald do not change color when pickled

Features of cooking Emerald cucumbers

Each housewife has her own secret of how to keep cucumbers green when pickled. Not all of them are equally effective, and in order for the color of the fruit to remain emerald, it is better to combine 2-3 methods:

1. Cucumbers are scalded and then immediately immersed in ice water. This will stop the thermal processes. The faster the fruit cools, the better the color will last. It is recommended to add ice cubes to the water.
2. Prepare a decoction of oak bark. Cool it down completely. Immerse cucumbers in the broth. Leave for half an hour.
3. Rinse jars with alcohol or vodka before laying cucumbers.
4. Add ethanol to the brine.
5. Alum retains color effectively. But you can’t add a lot of them, and with a small volume of brine it is difficult to observe the dosage. For 10 liters of water, 0,5 tsp will be required. alum.

Selection and preparation of ingredients

Of great importance for preserving the color of cucumbers is the right choice of fruits. Old ones that have begun to turn yellow or simply overgrown, with large seeds, will no longer become emerald.

You should choose fruits of late varieties, medium in size. You can’t take smooth cucumbers, they will be soft, tasteless, and no tricks can save their color.

Varieties with bumpy skin and black pimples are suitable for pickling. The shirt doesn’t matter. Just German, when the pimples are small, arranged so densely that they almost merge, is considered ideal for canning. And , with rare large tubercles, is for cold pickling.

Recipe for Emerald cucumbers for the winter with vodka

A proven recipe for pickling Emerald cucumbers not only retains the color of the fruit, but also turns out to be very tasty. The number of products is calculated for one three-liter jar or 3 with a capacity of 1 liter.

Ingredients:

• cucumbers – 2 kg;
• black peppercorns – 10 pcs.;
• garlic – 2 teeth;
• blackcurrant leaf – 3-5 pieces;
• dill – 1 whole stem without root;
• horseradish leaf – 2 pc.

For the marinade:

• water – 1,5 l;
• sugar – 3 st. l .;
• salt – 3 Art. l .;
• citric acid – 2 tsp. without a slide (10 g);
• vodka – 50 ml.

Preparation:

1. Sterilize the jar and lid in any convenient way.

   

2. Wash cucumbers. Pour boiling water over, immerse immediately in ice water. Soak for 20 minutes in a decoction of oak bark.

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3. Put garlic and herbs at the bottom of the jar. Lay cucumbers tightly vertically.

   

4. Prepare a brine from water, sugar, citric acid, salt. Pour cucumbers for 5 minutes.

   

   Important! Unlike other recipes, here the brine is made immediately. If you use just boiling water, without acid, the color of the fruit will change.
5. Drain the liquid, bring to a boil, fill the jar.

   

6. Put the pepper into the bowl. Heat the brine again and pour over the cucumbers. Add vodka to the jar. Roll up right away. Turn over, wrap.

   

Useful Tips

When preparing Emerald cucumbers, everything should be done quickly, it depends on this how well their color will be preserved. If you drain the brine and get distracted, the fruits are unlikely to remain perfectly green.

Store the workpiece in a cool place protected from light. Otherwise, they, again, may lose their emerald color.

In order for the fruits to suffer less from boiling water, it is recommended to put some of the greens on top. This does not affect the taste, but it will help preserve the color.

Vodka cannot be replaced even by the highest quality moonshine. But you can take medical alcohol and dilute up to 40%.

Conclusion

Emerald cucumbers for the winter require careful attention when cooking, this is the only way to preserve the beautiful green color of the fruit. But on the table they look great and are very tasty.