Salting or sourdough cabbage in the midst of autumn is almost one of the most important preparations for the winter. But it requires a rather long exposure so that lactic acid microorganisms can fully process the natural sugars contained in cabbage leaves into lactic acid. Depending on external conditions, this takes from one to two weeks, and sometimes even about a month. If you can’t wait that long or a celebration is planned one of these days, where you want to treat guests with crispy, juicy cabbage, then you need to use the cabbage pickling recipe in a quick way. Thus, you can cook very tasty and crispy salted cabbage in just a day.
There are many similar recipes at present, and almost all of them are based on the fact that prepared vegetables are poured with hot brine and due to this, lactic acid fermentation of cabbage is accelerated several times. This process is especially effective with the additional use of different types of vinegar. In the article you can find several recipes for quick salting cabbage in a hot way, both with and without vinegar.
Salting tricks
Experienced hostesses know a lot of tricks that they actively use when salting cabbage, including in a hot way.
- First of all, for salting it is necessary to choose cabbage varieties that ripen at the end of September, in October. They must contain enough sugar for the fermentation process to proceed properly. It is believed that the best pickling forks are formed after a light autumn frost hits them. Sometimes a suitable variety is determined by its shape – most often heads for pickling should be slightly flattened on top in shape.
- High-quality pickling of cabbage will occur only when using suitable salt. It should be coarsely ground and without any additives, in any case not iodized. You can use sea salt, but you need to make sure it is pure.
- Our ancestors argued that the best time to pickle cabbage is during the new moon and on the growing moon. This is easy to determine even without a special lunar calendar – just look out the window in the evening. If there are many stars in the sky, but at the same time it is rather dark, then it is likely that the time of the new moon is worth it. The growing moon is also easily determined if you know that its crescent is opposite to the letter “C”.
- If, according to the recipe, cabbage is salted with vinegar, then it can be replaced with apple or wine vinegar, citric acid and even lemon juice. You can also use juice from sour cherry plum or plum, as well as Antonovka apples.
- So that hot pickled cabbage does not lose its attractive appearance and taste, it is necessary that the brine constantly completely covers the vegetables in a jar or in a saucepan. Therefore, oppression is often used during salting. If, when salting vegetables in a saucepan or in a barrel, it is easy to provide for a load placed on any lid or plate, then with salting in jars, the situation is more complicated. But you can use the following method. Take a strong and whole plastic bag, fill it with water, and carefully push it into the mouth of the jar. Tie the other end tightly. A bag of water will spread over the surface and press down on the cabbage.
- If the fermentation process according to the recipe takes more than a day, then the cabbage must be pierced regularly, thereby giving an outlet to the accumulated gases. In addition, it is necessary to remove the resulting foam from the surface of the cabbage several times a day with a slotted spoon. If the foam ceases to form, and the brine becomes transparent, this indicates that the cabbage is ready.
- Pickled cabbage is best stored at +3°+7°C, but make sure that the temperature does not fall below zero. Otherwise, the cabbage will lose its taste and useful qualities and become soft.
Instant Spicy Cabbage
Cabbage, cooked according to this instant recipe, most of all tastes like a traditional sauerkraut.
All of them are added in small quantities to the taste of the hostess. So, for one large head of cabbage, weighing about 2-3 kg, you will need:
- 3 medium carrots;
- two small heads of garlic;
- 1 tablespoon dry dill seeds;
- 1 teaspoon of allspice black pepper;
- 1 a glass of sugar;
- 1,5 liters of water;
- 2 tablespoons of salt;
- 4 tablespoons of vinegar.
Cabbage heads are stripped of their upper covering leaves, even if they are clean and undamaged. The remaining cabbage leaves are chopped in the most convenient way for the hostess. Carrots are cleaned of dirt and rubbed on a coarse grater. Garlic is crushed with a special crusher. Cabbage and carrots are mixed together, crushed garlic, dill seeds and allspice are added to them. Sterilized jars are tightly filled with this mixture.
For hot pickling of cabbage, it is necessary to prepare a marinade, for which sugar and salt are added to the water, and it is heated to a boil. At the moment of boiling, vinegar is poured into the marinade and jars with vegetables are poured with still boiling liquid. If the jars are rolled up immediately after pouring with boiling brine, then such a workpiece can be stored even outside the refrigerator.
Under these conditions, the dish will be completely ready in two days. If you close the jars with ordinary plastic lids, then you can store the workpiece only in the refrigerator.
Salted cabbage without vinegar
Vinegar is not at all a necessary component for making salted cabbage in a quick way. There are recipes that allow you to get a real tasty salty billet without a drop of vinegar in a relatively short time. The main thing is that for pickling cabbage, the method of pouring hot brine is used. The brine itself is very easy to prepare. 40 g of sugar and 25 g of salt are dissolved in one liter of water, the mixture is heated to a boiling state and boiled for 3-5 minutes. To fill a three-liter jar, on average, about 1-1,5 liters of ready-made brine are required.
According to the recipe for 3 kg of chopped cabbage, it is necessary to prepare 0,8 kg of carrots and 1 kg of sweet bell pepper. All vegetables must be cleaned of excess parts and dirt and cut into thin strips. Banks before laying vegetables in them must be sterilized and dried. Cabbage, carrots and peppers are laid out tightly in layers, alternating them with each other. Then the jars are filled with hot brine and left to cool. It is better to place oppression on top so that a minimum amount of oxygen enters, which means that conditions for the development of unwanted microorganisms are not created.
Even one appearance of such a blank will cause an appetite, and the taste of red cabbage will not yield to its white sister.
Both types of blanks can be tasted in a day, although they will reach full disclosure of taste after a few more days.
As for additives that can complement and improve the taste of salted cabbage, it is necessary to mention, first of all, cranberries. Not only does it prevent the development of mold and putrefactive bacteria, it also gives a piquant, special taste to the whole workpiece. Some recipes recommend the addition of grated ginger to give the cabbage some spiciness. Garlic is often used for the same purpose.
Do not be afraid to experiment with various additives when salting cabbage, and perhaps you will be able to create your own unique taste of this dish, the recipe of which you can pass on to your children and grandchildren.
