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Everyone loves pickled cucumbers with horseradish for the winter, but the preparation of such blanks is a laborious and delicate process. Difficulties begin even with the choice of a recipe for future pickles. New unusual ingredients are constantly appearing, but there are also those that have proven themselves for a hundred years to come. One of them is horseradish root.
Why do you need horseradish when salting
First of all, horseradish is added for taste, because the notes of its aroma give strength to cucumbers. But besides this, the addition of horseradish root will help to ensure that the cucumbers turn out to be crispy. This happens because it releases special tannins that prevent the cucumbers from softening.
Salting cucumbers for the winter with horseradish is also practical for its preservative properties. It also contains many vitamins and beneficial trace elements, helps to strengthen the immune system and maintain healthy skin. There is an opinion that speeding up the metabolism of horseradish root contributes to weight loss.
Is it possible to pickle cucumbers without horseradish
If someone doesn’t like shit or it turned out to be a problem to find it, you can do without it. Then you have to form a set of spices and spices that can replace it.
What can replace horseradish
If you decide not to add horseradish when pickling cucumbers, then you will need garlic and oak leaves. Black pepper can act as a spicy spice and give cucumbers a fortress. Health benefits of horseradish can be obtained from the addition of garlic. To make cucumbers crispy, use oak leaves or bark. Dry mustard will give pickles both strength and crunch.
Selection and preparation of ingredients
The main product is, of course, cucumbers. The success of salting will depend to a greater extent on their choice. Of course, it is easier to choose from home-grown cucumbers suitable for canning, the owner knows exactly both the variety and the conditions in which the vegetables grew. If the ingredients are purchased at the market, you need to make sure that the cucumbers are fresh, only these can be salted with horseradish for the winter.
The size of cucumbers should be small, so it is more convenient to put them in a jar, and they will not be bitter. Someone likes very small cucumbers the size of a little finger: they have a special sweetish taste, which, in tandem with spices, gives a very organic combination of flavors.
Smooth cucumbers are best left for salads; those with black tubercles on the skin go for pickling. Vegetables should feel firm to the touch, with no yellowing on the skin.
Both homemade and store-bought cucumbers are best soaked in cool water before canning. The minimum soaking time is 2-3 hours, but it is better to leave them in cold water overnight.
The quality of the water also affects the result of salting. It has been proven more than once that when using different water in the same recipe, the taste differed. If you have clean well or spring water at hand, then this is a great happiness, it is in such a liquid that pickles are best obtained. In the city, this is more difficult, but with appropriate processing, tap water will give a good taste when canned. To do this, it must be filtered and boiled. Sometimes it is simply replaced with bottled.
To prepare the spices for salting, just wash them well and scald with boiling water. It is important to pay attention to the choice of salt: only rock salt is used, since jars can explode from another, and cucumbers will soften from fine salt.
If the recipe for pickling cucumbers with horseradish also includes garlic, then it must first be peeled and cut into thin circles.
Jars preparation
First you need to make sure the integrity of the jars and lids. There should be no cracks or chips on the glass, and rust on the covers. After that, the dishes are washed under warm running water, you can use a sponge and baking soda. Detergents can adversely affect the organoleptic properties of the future workpiece.
Clean glass jars are sterilized in the oven, on the stove, in the microwave, or in other convenient ways. The lids are placed in a pot of hot water.
Recipes for canned cucumbers with horseradish for the winter
Many recipes have been invented for pickled cucumbers with horseradish for the winter, but there are also recognized classics among them. Such recipes have been tested for years and are ready to serve cooks for a long time.
Pickled cucumbers with horseradish root and garlic for the winter
If the garlic has small cloves, cutting them into circles is optional.
Ingredients (for a 3 liter jar):
- 4,7-5 kg of fresh cucumbers;
- 1 medium-sized carrot;
- a large head of garlic;
- 2-3 pieces of horseradish (root) up to 6 cm long;
- 2-4 dill umbrellas with seeds;
- 2 tbsp. l. coarse salt;
- 4-7 pieces of pepper (both black and allspice);
- dessert spoon of vinegar.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Half the horseradish and garlic, cut into circles, put on the bottom of a 3-liter jar.
- Half fill the jar with cucumbers with pieces of carrots, also cut into circles.
- Put the rest of the spices.
- Place the remaining cucumbers in a jar up to the lid.
- Lay the dill on top so that it does not allow the cucumbers to float.
- Pour cold brine, add vinegar and cover with gauze. Store at room temperature.
- After 3-4 days, remove the foam, pour the brine into a saucepan, and then bring to a boil, remembering to add salt.
- Put the jars on a towel and pour the contents with boiling brine to the top. Screw on the lid.
Pickles for the winter with horseradish will turn out crispy and strong.
A quick recipe for pickled cucumbers with horseradish root for the winter
Not everyone likes to mess around with pickles for a long time, which is why they came up with quick recipes.
Ingredients (for a 1 liter jar):
- 500-800 g of fresh cucumbers;
- a few pieces of horseradish (root);
- 3-5 peas of black pepper;
- 2-3 small umbrellas of dill.
For brine you need:
- litere of water;
- 2 st. l. rock salt;
- the same amount of sugar;
- not a full teaspoon of 70% vinegar.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Horseradish, pepper and dill, as in previous recipes, send to the bottom of the jar.
- Compactly arrange the cucumbers to the top.
- For 15-30 minutes, pour the contents of the jar with boiling water, and then drain it.
- Collect another water for brine, boil it, but do not add vinegar at this stage.
- Pour the contents with boiling brine, and only now add vinegar.
- Screw on the covers.
With this method, pickling cucumbers with horseradish root for the winter will not take much time, but this will not affect the result: the cucumbers will come out very tasty and juicy.
Cucumbers for the winter with horseradish, tomatoes and peppers
Combining different vegetables when salting is very convenient, because together they make the taste of the brine richer.
Ingredients (for a 3 liter jar):
- kilogram of cucumbers;
- kilogram of tomatoes;
- 2 large sweet peppers;
- 3 pieces of horseradish (root);
- 2 dill umbrella;
- a large head of garlic;
- 3 laurel leaves;
- 4-7 pieces of pepper (black and allspice).
For brine you need:
- 6 teaspoons of salt;
- the same amount of sugar;
- 9% vinegar.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Send black and allspice, bay leaves and horseradish to the bottom of the jar.
- Now put cucumbers in half of the jar.
- Place pieces of sweet pepper along the edges (cut into four parts).
- Place tomatoes on top.
- Pour boiling water over the jar for 3 minutes, then drain it into the sink.
- Pour boiling water for another 3 minutes, but now pour the water into a saucepan and make a brine out of it by adding sugar and salt.
- With this marinade, completely pour the vegetables, and then roll up the jar.
You can salt cucumbers for the winter with horseradish separately, but it is much more pleasant in winter to open a whole assortment of cucumbers, tomatoes and sweet peppers.
Pickled cucumbers with horseradish and currant leaves
Even a few leaves will give off the aroma of blackcurrant into the brine, but if you put more, then there will be no strong oversaturation.
Ingredients (per liter jar):
- 500-800 g cucumbers;
- 2 pieces of horseradish (root);
- 7-8 blackcurrant leaves;
- 1 Art. liter. sugar;
- 2 tbsp. l. coarse salt;
- garlic and cloves to taste;
- a teaspoon of vinegar 9%;
- 3-4 peas of black and allspice;
- a couple of dill umbrellas (with seeds).
Step-by-step instruction:
- Put horseradish on the bottom, and cucumbers on top of it.
- Gently arrange currant leaves and whole cloves of garlic on top of the cucumbers.
- Pour boiling water, cover (without twisting) with a lid for 10 minutes.
- Pour this water into a saucepan and add everything else to it: sugar, salt, pepper, dill and cloves. Boil for 10 minutes on low heat.
- Bring the resulting brine to a boil and pour into a jar, add vinegar there.
- Screw containers with lids.
Black currants are best suited for pickles, as they give the most expressive aroma. But if there is a desire, then red currant leaves are also added.
Terms and methods of storage
Shelf life depends on compliance with the rules of conservation and temperature. If the vegetables have not been scalded with boiling water, then they will last no more than a week. Processed cucumbers can be stored at a temperature of -1 to +4 for only 8-9 months.
Store jars in a cool and, if possible, dark room. The cellar is rightfully considered the ideal place for pickles.
Pickles can be stored in the freezer, but they are placed there without brine: vegetables are removed from jars and sent to a plastic bag. Such cucumbers are rarely used as a snack, they mainly become an ingredient, for example, for pickle or pizza.
After the jar is opened, the cucumbers will gradually become sour and soft, and after two weeks they will completely become unusable.
Conclusion
Cucumbers with horseradish for the winter are prepared according to many recipes, and among them there is no ideal one, because everyone has their own tastes and preferences. Only with horseradish root, there are dozens of combinations with leaves of berry plants, chili peppers and other spices. No need to be afraid to try something new, then everyone will find the best recipe for themselves.