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Who wouldn’t love the delicious, pronounced flavor of sterilized pickles and the crunch that sounds when you bite into them!
The uses of pickles are almost limitless
They are excellent not only with meats of all kinds, but also, for example, with French fries, baked pasta, thick lentils or pea mash. They are also popular as an ingredient in sauces, and few can imagine, for example, a Christmas Eve potato salad without them.
It’s also probably unnecessary to remind you how „medicinal“ the brine from pickles is when the blood alcohol level is higher. Its remarkable effect is due to the action of the salt used in canning.
The offer of pickles in shops is wide today; there are various types of brines and additives and many producers, but still nothing beats homemade canning.
Today’s recipe will be a bit different, but the result is definitely worth it. You just need to carefully choose the smaller, firm cucumbers that are ideal for sterilizing.
What goes into the jars
Before you start canning, you need to prepare:
- of course, cucumbers
- also a vine leaf, dill or any other suitable green ingredient that you use when canning
- whole peppercorns
- salt, and
- garlic.
Preparation method
First prepare the canning jars, which do not need to be sterilized; it’s enough to wash them well and let them dry.
Also prepare the mixture of water and salt that you will need. As for the ratio, use 1 kg of salt per 10 liters of water, or, for those who find it easier to calculate that way, 100 g of salt per liter of water. Dissolve the salt best by stirring regularly in boiling water.
Cut dill, vine leaf and the like into smaller pieces and place them on the bottom of each jar. Add garlic and whole peppercorns to taste and put in well-washed cucumbers (standing upright). When the cucumbers are nicely side by side in the jar, add more chopped dill or another green ingredient or herb you use on top.
Pour the prepared contents in the jars with the water and salt mixture and cap them so that during the processes that will occur in the jars any excess water can escape.
To allow the fermentation process to proceed successfully and to achieve the desired result, you will need to leave the jars like this for about five days, but always at least three days. After this period, pour out the water with salt from the jars and don’t forget to rinse the cucumbers several times properly from this salty mixture.
Replace the water and salt mixture in the jars with clean water up to the rim and seal them properly.
And you can invite guests
Pickles prepared this way can be stored anywhere; they do not require cooling or a shady place.
And when guests come to you and you offer them these pickles as a side with a meal, you’ll see how pleased they will be and how they’ll ask you what you did differently this time in canning that makes them so excellent. And it will be up to you whether you share the recipe with them or keep it your secret.
