Many people mistakenly believe that the only possible use of cucumber pickle is against a hangover. And if alcohol has not been consumed, it is blasphemous to pour it into the toilet. Completely in vain! The spicy liquid can serve as a salad dressing, a marinade for meat and seafood, or the basis for a delicious pie... Read on - 9 interesting ideas for using cucumber pickle.
Use as a marinade
To add juiciness and tenderness to the meat, it needs to be marinated. Cucumber pickle has an ideal composition to improve the taste of the following products:
- lean pork;
- chicken and turkey;
- fish;
- shrimp.
All you need to do is immerse the raw workpiece completely in the marinade. You can optionally add spices, garlic, onion rings, or use pure brine. Soaked meat or fish are well suited for baking, frying, or grilling. The duration of marinating ranges from 30 minutes to 8 hours. The exact time depends on the weight - for example, a chicken weighing 2.5 kg will marinate for 2.5 hours.
Onion marinade
Onions marinated in brine are an excellent appetizer (Photo: pixabay.com)
Onion rings serve as a decoration for meat and fish dishes, as well as an integral ingredient in burgers. If you have brine, you don't need to worry about marinating the vegetable. Cut it as necessary, marinate and leave at room temperature for an hour.
These onions can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks and used as needed.
Budget brine cookies
For many, this recipe will bring back pleasant memories from childhood. In the 90s, brine cookies were baked in almost every home. All the ingredients are inexpensive, and the taste of the baked goods is quite good.
Cooking algorithm:
- Mix sugar, cucumber liquid and vegetable oil (1 cup each) in a bowl.
- Add 1 teaspoon of soda.
- Pour in 3 cups of sifted flour (add 1 more cup if necessary).
- Knead the dough.
- Roll it out into a layer 1 cm thick and cut the cookies into any shape.
- Place in a preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes at 200 degrees.
Cucumber pickle restores the water-salt balance in the body. It speeds up metabolism and stimulates appetite. Just 50 ml of the drink helps prevent dehydration during intense training. If you drink it in small sips, hiccups go away. The spicy-salty liquid is useful for women to drink during menstruation to reduce the loss of minerals and improve well-being.
Avoid muscle cramps
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The high sodium content of both the fermented and vinegared versions may be beneficial in helping the body retain fluids. This is important when you exercise for long periods of time (an hour or more), as fluid loss through sweating can cause dehydration and trigger muscle cramps.
Scientists have conducted a lot of research and proven that salty brine is useful, because it can eliminate muscle cramps in athletes and will do it better than ordinary water. During the study, male participants rode bicycles. Sessions lasted 30 minutes, with five minutes of rest between each session. When the researchers determined that body fluids were depleted by 3 percent, which corresponds to moderate dehydration, they electrically stimulated a nerve in the ankle to induce foot cramps. Researchers found that the brine solution could relieve cramps about 37 percent faster than if men simply drank water.
Cucumber brine for boiling potatoes
Without a doubt, boiled and fluffy mashed potatoes are very tasty! But sometimes you need to boil potatoes for a salad - for example, Olivier salad. Then the softness and loose structure become more of a minus than a plus. The potatoes crumble and cannot be cut into even cubes. In such a situation, cucumber pickle will help out! You need to add 100 ml per 1 liter of water, then the potatoes will be elastic after boiling.
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Additive to sauce for pizza and French fries
Brine will make pizza dough tastier (Photo: pixabay.com)
To make the pizza base soft and juicy, brush it with a mixture of ketchup, mayonnaise and cucumber brine. The dough will acquire an interesting taste, and you will no longer want to leave it on the plate.
A similar pickle sauce is considered a national treasure in the US state of Utah. There it is always served with French fries. The only difference is that it contains onion powder (fried, dried and powdered onion).
Delicious pie recipe
Cucumber brine with vinegar makes a wonderful sponge cake - tender, fluffy and at the same time very inexpensive.
Prepare according to the following instructions:
- Mix 1 cup brine and 1 cup sugar in a bowl.
- Add 3 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil and vanillin.
- Sift flour into a separate container and add 1 teaspoon of soda.
- Pour the liquid part into the flour and mix the mixture with a spoon.
- Add candied fruits, nuts, raisins to taste.
- Bake in a greased pan for 40 minutes at 170 degrees.
Weight loss ally
As a result of fermentation, lactic acid is formed. It has a beneficial effect on the metabolism of lipids and glucose in the liver and has an excellent effect on the immune system. By drinking pickle juice, we will feel more full; it stimulates, invigorates, calories are burned faster.
Regular consumption of this liquid helps get rid of excess water in the body, thereby eliminating swelling and stagnation, which is also the scourge of people struggling with excess weight. It is also worth remembering that vegetables that have gone through the fermentation procedure are lower in calories than fresh ones.
Making salad dressing
Cucumber brine can serve as a dressing for vegetable salads, such as “Spring”. It’s very easy to make – just mix 3 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil, 2 teaspoons of cucumber liquid, add spices to taste and mix vigorously.
In its pure form, cucumber pickle can be consumed no more than 200 ml per day. Exceeding this dose can lead to swelling and heartburn. The drink should be consumed with caution by people with chronic gastritis and ulcers, hypertension, atherosclerosis, cholecystitis, and urolithiasis.
Dressing for pasta, vegetable juices and cocktails
A universal ingredient for pasta (Photo: pixabay.com)
To make the creamy taste of pasta with cheese more piquant, add finely chopped basil and a couple of tablespoons of cucumber pickle, then stir and serve.
Also, the spicy liquid is combined with any vegetable juices, the taste of which becomes brighter and more interesting. And also with cocktails that contain tomato juice. For example, with Bloody Mary.
What if you add it to soup?
The liquid left over from the pickles can be used to make winter soups. Borscht and cabbage soup will noticeably benefit in taste when adding brine. And it’s completely unthinkable to cook hodgepodge and rassolnik without this important ingredient!
The brine is stored in the refrigerator for an average of 7 days. If its expiration date expires and there is no suitable use for it, you can freeze the liquid. In this form, it is suitable not only for cooking, but also for cosmetic purposes. You can wipe your face with ice cubes to soften and brighten your skin. Or throw them in hot water and make a foot bath to quickly relieve fatigue and muscle tension at the end of the working day.
Instead of vinegar
Replacing mayonnaise, sunflower oil or lemon juice with brine is a good idea. The salty, slightly sour taste complements vegetable salads; the minimal calorie content makes the dish dietary.
By pouring the brine directly into cabbage soup, pickles and borscht, the first courses receive an advantageous flavor profile.
It’s especially good to add the infusion from a jar of cucumbers to cabbage soup with fresh cabbage, since it gives the dish a slightly bland taste, and the brine adds flavor. Be sure to test the first courses for salt so as not to spoil them.
Let's make a stew
When preparing a stew, after roasting the vegetables, it is time to add the braising liquid. But ordinary water is tasteless, so many people add tomato paste or sauerkraut to the dish, which adds sourness. But cucumber pickle enriches the stew much better! It is recommended to add it diluted with water in half. In this case, there is no need to use additional salt.
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In the old days, brine from cucumbers, as well as others (from tomatoes, sauerkraut, pickled apples, watermelons), was always served with meat and vegetable dishes. It was believed that the spicy liquid nourishes the body with useful substances and tones. Of course, brine with a minimum of salt is better for drinking. And if you are reluctant to drink the drink in its pure form, there are many ways to use it in dishes. Finally, another reason why you don’t need to pour out the cucumber pickle is the possibility of using it for cosmetic purposes.
Make soup
Almost any winter soup will benefit significantly from the addition of brine, cucumber or cabbage. In cabbage soup, even if they are cooked without sauerkraut, in borscht - instead of vinegar. Rassolnik and solyanka are simply unthinkable without brine from pickled cucumbers.
Rassolnik with beef heart
Photo: Shutterstock.com
- 500 g veal or beef heart
- 2 liters of water
- ½ cup brine
- 3 pickles
- 3 potatoes
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 3 tbsp. l. pearl barley
- 1 parsley root
- Bay leaf
- Black peppercorns
- Salt
Article on the topic
9 ways to make meat tender Step 1. At least three hours before cooking, soak the barley in cold water, after rinsing the cereal under running water.
Step 2. Remove fat from meat, clean and rinse the heart. Fill with cold water. Put on fire. When it boils, skim off the foam, reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for about an hour.
Step 3. Peel the cucumbers, pour a glass of boiling water over the skins and cook for 15 minutes.
Step 4. Then remove the skin and throw it away, chop the pulp and cook in brine for another 10 minutes.
Step 5. Cut the carrots and parsley root into strips. Add to the soup and add pearl barley.
Step 6. Peel the potatoes and onions. Cut into strips and rings. Add to soup.
Step 7. Place cucumbers, add brine. Cook for another 10 minutes. Then add spices. Switch off.
Step 8. Let stand for 15 minutes, then serve with sour cream.
Chemical composition and calorie content
The brine tastes salty and sour. Spices and herbs give it a pleasant taste. When cold, it perfectly quenches thirst, despite the salty taste. The calorie content of the drink is negligible, only 12 kcal per 100 ml of brine.
Salted cucumbers
This low-calorie drink contains almost the entire vitamin B group, vitamins C, E, K, A and others. Useful microelements: selenium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, choline, zinc and others. It also contains iodine, which is necessary for our body, especially for those people who have problems with the thyroid gland. In addition, it contains probiotics, i.e. beneficial bacteria, especially good for the stomach. This composition has a beneficial effect on the body, and in what cases the brine is used we will analyze further.
