Pickles under iron lids can be prepared without vinegar. To do this you need to use salt and a little sugar. In this case, the main condition is, of course, maintaining proportions.
For example, for a liter jar of cucumbers it is better to take 2 tablespoons of salt and half as much sugar, for a 3-liter jar - 3 times more.
A selection of the simplest and most delicious recipes for pickling crispy cucumbers for the winter without vinegar is given below.
Pickled crispy cucumbers for the winter (without vinegar)
Why salting under iron lids?
The lids are nylon (white), iron and even glass. But it is best to seal the jars with metal lids, because they provide several advantages at once:
- Provide maximum tightness.
- They reliably maintain the quality of the product for several years (if stored in the refrigerator).
- Finally, these lids are not very expensive, which is also important.
True, they have one drawback - the rolling technology is more complicated than putting on a nylon lid. In addition, you will also need a special key for sealing cans.
Can Seaming Key
However, these shortcomings are completely surmountable. The key can be purchased at almost any store at an affordable price.
And the technology of rolling cucumbers with iron lids is not very complicated - the whole process is clearly shown in the video.
How to pickle cucumbers for the winter without vinegar in a cold way: a classic recipe
There are a large number of recipes for pickling cucumbers - several dozen, maybe hundreds. However, the cooking principles are the same - there is a hot and cold method. In the first case, the brine is prepared using cold water, in the second - using boiling water.
Based on the calculation, we take the products in the following quantities:
Ingredients for a 3-liter jar
- 1.5 kg of medium-sized cucumbers (10-15 cm in length);
- 1.5 liters of water;
- 3 level tablespoons of salt;
- 1 teaspoon sugar;
- a few peppercorns;
- and several dill umbrellas.
The jars must first be sterilized by keeping them in the microwave for 3-4 minutes or over boiling water for 10-15 minutes. The recipe itself is very simple, it consists of the following steps:
Recipe for pickling cucumbers (step by step):
Step 1. First you need to carefully select the cucumbers. They should be the same size, with fairly dark but not too hard skin.
Step 2. Place the washed spices and herbs into the prepared jars.
Step 3. To pickle cucumbers, it is preferable to use spring or well water. Another option is proven bottled or filtered water. You can prepare the brine using tap water, but it is advisable to let it sit for a day beforehand.
Step 4. Then the cucumbers themselves are placed quite tightly in the jar and filled with water so that the level completely covers the contents.
Step 5. Let the cucumbers stand for 2-3 days at room temperature in a dark place - for example, under a table, covered with a thick cloth. During this time, the cucumbers will ferment, after which foam will periodically appear on the surface, which is normal.
It can be removed and water can be gradually added - literally a few tablespoons. After 3 days, we roll up the jars with iron or cover them with nylon lids, then put them in the cellar or refrigerator.
Crispy pickled cucumbers in jars with iron lids
The cold method has several advantages over the hot method. Firstly, it’s faster and more convenient – there’s no need to boil the water first.
In addition, cold water preserves all the beneficial substances of cucumbers, while boiling water destroys some of them. Many more pickle lovers claim that such cucumbers are more tasty and fragrant.
Finally, there is a practical side to the issue - cold pickled cucumbers for the winter can be placed in any jar without fear that it will crack due to boiling water.
What is used instead of vinegar when canning cucumbers?
Sometimes people cannot use vinegar to make preserves. In this case, you can use the following instead:
- Vodka. Some people decide to replace it with regular vodka, which is sold in most shops or supermarkets. Even a small amount of vodka can stop the appearance and further development of microflora, due to which preserved food can quickly deteriorate.
- Lemon acid. The most common substitute for vinegar is citric acid. The marinade to which it is added turns out less harsh. It also lasts longer than brines that are made with the addition of vodka.
Cold salted crispy cucumbers for the winter with horseradish and garlic
This recipe can also be considered one of the simplest ways to pickle cucumbers for the winter, because the sequence of actions is fundamentally no different. The only difference is that this time they add garlic and horseradish.
However, you should not overdo it with their quantity. On a liter jar it is enough to put 2-3 cloves of garlic or the same number of small pieces of horseradish root (they can be replaced with small leaves of this plant).
Let's take the following ingredients for a 3 liter jar:
- 1.5 kg of cucumbers (you can take large fruits, but they should all be approximately the same size);
- 1.5 liters of water;
- 3 large spoons of salt;
- 1.5-2 level tablespoons of sugar;
- garlic – 5 cloves;
- horseradish – 2 leaves or several pieces of root;
- pepper – 15 peas.
The cooking technology is as follows:
Step 1. Wash the fruits and soak them for several hours in cold water.
Step 2. Prepare and wash the greens, cut the garlic into large slices.
Step 3. Sterilize the jars and put herbs and spices in them.
Step 4. Place the cucumbers - quite tightly, but not too much.
Step 5. Fill with water to the top. We leave to ferment for 3 days, after which we close the lid and put it in a cool place. The product will be ready in 1 month.
General recommendations
Whatever recipe is used, there are several rules that must be followed. There are not many of them:
- water for preparing brine should only be used filtered or after boiling;
- you need coarse salt, not extra and not iodized;
- it is very important to thoroughly wash the container, lids and ingredients, since cold salting technology does not involve heat treatment;
- if the recipe is new, it is better to first salt 1-2 jars for testing, so as not to spoil the products;
- adding oak leaves, cherries and currants will give cucumbers elasticity, but a large amount of garlic can have the opposite effect.
Cold pickling of cucumbers for the winter with berry leaves
Perhaps the most important requirement for pickles is that they turn out crispy. And this is quite fair. After all, the cucumber should not be watery, but dense enough to be a pleasure to bite into.
In this case, we will simply add fresh (or preferably slightly dried) leaves of berry bushes - raspberries, black currants or cherries - to the brine. If oak trees suddenly grow in the vicinity, you can also collect their foliage. It is only important to make sure that the trees are located away from roads, and that their greenery is fairly clean in appearance.
The foliage of berries and oak contains quite a lot of tannins. Due to their chemical properties, they practically do not penetrate into the fruit itself, but are absorbed only into the peel of the cucumber.
As a result, it becomes denser, the juice from the vegetable practically does not escape into the brine, so the resulting cucumber turns out to be very dense, elastic, and therefore very pleasant.
Cherry leaves - great for pickling cucumbers
To cold pickle cucumbers for the winter using this recipe, we will take the following ingredients.
Calculation for 1 liter jar:
- 600 g medium cucumbers of the same size;
- 0.5-0.6 l of water;
- salt – 1 heaped tablespoon, i.e. 30 g;
- sugar – a teaspoon (you don’t have to add it at all);
- 10 peppercorns;
- 2-3 cloves of garlic;
- 2-3 dill umbrellas;
- 1-2 horseradish leaves;
- 1-2 leaves of currants, cherries or raspberries;
- 1-2 oak leaves.
The sequence of actions is as follows:
Step 1. First, as usual, soak the cucumbers in water, keeping them in a basin for about 3-4 hours.
Step 2. Then put herbs and garlic, as well as black peppercorns, into pre-sterilized jars.
Step 3. Place the cucumbers quite tightly, but they should not protrude above the neck.
Step 4. Dissolve a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of sugar in half a liter of cool water and mix.
Step 5. Pour this water into the jar and cover it with a lid, but loosely.
Step 6. You can first cover the fruits on top with a leaf of any plant from those we took for pickling.
Next, everything is as usual - we put the jar in the dark for 3 days, and then close it with a thick nylon or roll up an iron lid.
How to cold pickle cucumbers for the winter with mustard
Lovers of pickled cucumbers probably remember that along with the usual herbs, peppercorns and other components, the solution also contains some mysterious grains. These are mustard seeds, which give the finished product a very interesting aroma.
And it’s a pleasure to try this brine, not to mention the fact that it can be used to prepare various soups that have long become classic dishes of Russian cuisine.
Pickled cucumbers for the winter with mustard
For this recipe we will need almost the same ingredients.
Proportions for a 1 liter jar:
- 600 g vegetables;
- 0.5 liters of cold, purified (or settled) water;
- bay leaf and several currant and cherry leaves;
- salt – 30 g;
- sugar – 15 g;
- pepper - a few peas;
- mustard seeds - 1 level dessert spoon.
The sequence of actions is approximately the same, but not everything is so simple - there will be a surprise that may be useful to the housewives.
Preparation step by step:
Step 1. First, wash the cucumbers and put them in cool water for several hours.
Step 2. Then we cut off their edges.
Step 3. Here comes the promised surprise. Pour boiling water over all the mustard leaves and seeds, let them stand for about 5-10 minutes (then the boiling water needs to be drained).
Step 4. Place herbs and peppers in pre-sterilized jars.
Step 5. Lay the cucumbers - it’s best to put the first row on the ends, and then as necessary.
Step 6. Now we put the mustard seeds and close the jars, leaving them for 3 days, then roll them up with iron or close them with tight nylon lids.
Pickled cucumbers in jars under iron lids (with mustard)
For a piquant taste, you can even add 2 tablespoons of regular vodka - for the sake of experimentation, you can even decide to take this interesting step. We put the jars in the refrigerator for storage.
Pickled cucumbers “under the degree”: a simple recipe with vodka
And this version of cold-salted cucumbers for the winter can be tried by those who like something new. And in general, you can pickle a couple of jars in this way as an experiment.
You will need the following components (for a 3-liter jar):
- 1.5 kg of vegetables;
- 1.5 liters of water;
- 4.5 tablespoons salt;
- 3-4 dessert spoons of sugar;
- 10 peppercorns;
- cherry, raspberry, currant leaves;
- several dill umbrellas;
- 100 g vodka.
How to salt cucumbers for the winter in jars of vodka:
Step 1. Wash, soak the cucumbers for several hours, sterilize the jars and put green leaves in them.
Step 2. Place the cucumbers there.
Step 3. Prepare the brine - dissolve salt and sugar in water, add vodka and pour this mixture over the cucumbers.
Step 4. Leave the jar alone for 2-3 days (you can put gauze or cover it loosely with a lid).
Step 5. And then close the lid completely - for the winter.
Pickled cucumbers for the winter in a jar under a nylon lid
It’s not hard to guess that the recipe with vodka and mustard can be combined into one. Then the finished product will turn out exceptionally tasty, and the brine will certainly not ferment.
How to pickle crispy cucumbers without vinegar: the hot method
The method described above applies to cold ones, because chilled cucumbers are filled with cold water. To give the fruits a pleasant crunch, you can try the hot method. It has its undeniable advantages:
- Salt, sugar and other spices dissolve much faster in hot water.
- Spices penetrate the fruit better.
- The leaves of cherries, currants and other berries that are used in the recipe release their substances into the solution better (the process is similar to brewing tea). Among their components, tannins are especially valuable - they give cucumbers the desired crunchy taste.
To pickle cucumbers in jars for the winter according to this recipe, you will need the following ingredients.
Proportions for a 3 liter jar:
- 1 kg of cucumbers;
- salt and sugar - one large heaped spoon each;
- garlic – 3-4 cloves;
- dill – several sprigs, 2-3 umbrellas;
- 10-15 peppercorns;
- 3-4 leaves of currant, cherry, raspberry.
This time we proceed like this:
Step 1. Pre-soak the cucumbers in cool water, but leave them on the table so that they reach room temperature.
In the meantime, sterilize the jars (10-15 minutes over steam over boiling water or 3-4 minutes in the microwave).
Step 2. Meanwhile, prepare the brine. To do this, you need to bring 1 liter of water to a boil (it’s better to let it sit first), then add salt, sugar, dill leaves and berries, as well as pepper (10-15 peas). You can also add a few bay leaves there.
Step 3. Fill the cucumbers with hot brine to the top, let them cool for 1 hour. Then cover with lids (loosely) or gauze and place in a dark (but not cold) place overnight.
Step 4. And after a day, we roll up the jars with iron lids or simply close them with thick nylon lids. We put it in the refrigerator for storage.
They need to be shaken periodically - especially at the very beginning. After all, salt and other spices must be properly distributed throughout the entire volume.
Pickled cucumbers for the winter - in liter jars with iron lids
Features of storing workpieces
It is not advisable to store preserved food for years, since next season the crop will need to be processed again, and both containers and space will be needed for it. Fresh and tasty pickles are best consumed in the first winter after harvesting. This is especially true for cold-cooked pickles. Jars should be stored in a cool or cold place where there is no or minimal access to light. Pickling cucumbers can be done without vinegar. Many fruits, vegetables and substances have preservative properties to one degree or another, which can be enhanced with additional ingredients in the recipe and produce excellent crispy cucumbers.
How to quickly pickle crispy cucumbers without vinegar
And one more recipe, as they say, from the “quickly” category. Lightly salted cucumbers are the case when a “raw” dish is in some ways even better than a cooked one. The composition of the components and methods of preparation are not much different from those described above.
Therefore, the only significant difference is the cooking time. All you have to do is soak the cucumbers for 24 hours – and that’s it, the cold appetizer is ready.
In addition, there is no need to sterilize the jars - after all, such a dish can be prepared in a regular saucepan or in any other container.
Let's take the following components:
- cucumbers – 1 kg (medium size, all fruits are approximately the same in size);
- salt - 1 heaped tablespoon (but no more - otherwise it will be too salty);
- dill - several sprigs;
- garlic – 4 cloves.
Selection and preparation of ingredients
It is preferable to take cucumbers for harvesting from your own plot. If there is none, then you can negotiate with those gardeners who grow this vegetable. At the market, you should buy any crop only from direct sellers, and not from resellers. Cucumbers for preservation should be the same size, dark and without yellowness on the light part. Careful selection of all ingredients is important not only for beauty when placing them in a jar - healthy fruits are the basis for high-quality preservation with a long shelf life.
Did you know? Pickled cucumbers retain fluid in the body, so those who watch their figure are shocked by the morning readings of the scales. There is no need to worry - this is not excess weight at all, but fluid that will leave the body within a few hours.
