How to Make Crispy and Delicious Pickled Cucumbers with Apple Cider Vinegar
If you don’t like adding table vinegar to your preparations or someone in your household smells it strongly, it’s time to change the recipe. We hasten to introduce you to useful information about apple vinegar, not table vinegar.
We’ll explain in an accessible way why you add it, in what quantity, how to properly seal and store cucumbers with apple cider vinegar. And, of course, the three best recipes that your guests will appreciate.
Why add apple cider vinegar to pickled cucumbers?
In some recipes pickled cucumbers Instead of table vinegar, apple cider vinegar is found. What are its functions and how much to add when marinating - everything in order.
What does it give
The main function of apple cider vinegar is the same as that of table vinegar - ensuring long-term storage of winter preparationsj. Unlike the table variety, apple juice allows you to retain most of the beneficial properties of pickled vegetables.
To keep cucumbers firm and crispy, experienced housewives add apple cider vinegar to the cucumber marinade. It turns out soft, without any foreign aftertaste. Cucumbers pickled with apple cider vinegar delight with their beautiful color and elastic skin.
How much vinegar to add to marinade
Be careful with the recipe. You can't pour by eye. Apple cider vinegar, as a rule, should be 4%. But its quantity depends on the accompanying ingredients and, of course, on the volume of the jar. Read each one carefully recipe and remember that too much vinegar is worse than too little.
Important! Pay attention to the percentage indicated on the bank. The lower it is, the more vinegar is needed.
Rules for pickling with apple cider vinegar
The rules are simple and no different from those that need to be followed when marinating with table vinegar:
- Add vinegar at the very end. Either into the boiling marinade, or directly into the jar a few seconds before pouring boiling water.
- If the recipe contains vegetable oil, it is poured into a jar, and apple cider vinegar into the marinade.
- Cucumbers won't turn out crispy if you just add apple cider vinegar. It is necessary to first soak the fruits in ice water, and also add horseradish and oak leaves.
- Sometimes housewives add jar crushed aspirin to keep cucumbers even longer. This is a great way, but in combination with table vinegar. It is better not to add aspirin to apple cider vinegar.
The best recipes for pickled cucumbers with apple cider vinegar
Now we’ll tell you how and in what proportions to pickle tasty and healthy cucumbers.
Classic simple recipe
Ingredients:
- 1.5 kg of medium-sized cucumbers;
- 2 tbsp. l. apple cider vinegar (6%) or 4 tbsp. l. apple cider vinegar (3% or 4%);
- 4 cloves of garlic;
- black peppercorns;
- 2 bay leaves;
- 3 currant leaves;
- 2 cherry leaves;
- 1 dill umbrella;
- 4 tbsp. l. Sahara;
- 2 tbsp. l. salt without a slide.
Cooking method:
- Soak the cucumbers for at least four hours.
- Wash the vegetables, use a brush if necessary and remove dust and thorns from the skin.
- Rinse the greens in cold water.
- Sterilize the jars.
- Place currant leaves, cherries and garlic on the bottom.
- Fill the jars with vegetables, placing an umbrella of dill on top.
- Pour boiling water over the vegetables and leave for five minutes.
- Carefully pour the water back into the ladle or pan, turn the stove on high and boil.
- Pour boiling water into the jars again. Now leave it for three minutes. Notice if the volume of liquid has decreased.
- Drain the water back into the container. If it is not enough to fill completely the third time, add boiled water.
- Immediately add peppercorns, bay leaves, salt and sugar.
- When the water boils, stir and cook for three minutes.
- Pour in the vinegar and remove the pan from the stove.
- Pour the hot marinade carefully, trying not to do it harshly.
- Close the jars and turn them upside down.
- Wrap in thick towels for two days.
With apple cider vinegar and spices
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of cucumbers;
- 1 tsp. mustard beans;
- 1 tsp. mustard powder;
- 0.25 tsp cinnamon;
- 1 sprig of basil;
- 1 sprig of parsley;
- 1 sprig of dill;
- 1 dill umbrella;
- 2 currant leaves;
- 2 grape leaves;
- 2 cherry leaves;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- cumin to taste;
- black peppercorns to taste;
- 1.5 tbsp. l. apple cider vinegar (6%);
- 1 tbsp. l. salt;
- 3 tbsp. l. Sahara.
Cooking method:
- Wash the cucumbers soaked for five hours and dry on a towel.
- Sterilize the jars and keep the lids in boiling water.
- Chop the dill, parsley and basil not too finely.
- Place cherry, grape, currant leaves, caraway seeds and bay leaves at the bottom of the jars.
- Fill the jars halfway with cucumbers.
- Add a mixture of parsley, dill, basil and garlic cloves.
- Fill the rest of the jars with vegetables.
- Place an umbrella of dill on the very top.
- Pour mustard grains into jars.
- Add salt, sugar, peppercorns to the water. Put it on fire.
- Before boiling, add powdered mustard and cinnamon.
- Cook for five minutes.
- Pour vinegar into the jars and immediately fill with marinade.
- Cover with lids and sterilize for 12 minutes.
- Screw on the caps.Leave to cool in a dark and warm place for 48 hours.
Important! The abundance of spices is contraindicated for people with stomach disease, hypersensitivity of teeth and gums.
Recipe without sterilization
Ingredients:
- 700 g cucumbers;
- 1 large onion;
- 4 cloves of garlic;
- 100 ml vinegar (3%);
- currant leaves;
- black peppercorns;
- allspice;
- Oak Leaf;
- horseradish leaf;
- 1 tsp. mustard beans;
- 1 tbsp. l. salt;
- 2.5 tbsp. l. Sahara.
Cooking method:
- Place the cucumbers in ice water for 4-5 hours. It is advisable to refresh the water or add ice every hour.
- Wash the jars with soda solution.
- Cut the onion into half rings.
- Place all the leaves at once into dry jars: grapes, currants, oak.
- Place the garlic on top of the leaves.
- Fill the jars with vegetables.
- Place onion rings on top of the cucumbers.
- Sprinkle grain mustard on top.
- Boil water and fill jars with boiling water.
- Wait 15 minutes.
- Pour the water back into the container and boil again.
- Pour boiling water back into the jars of vegetables and leave for 10 minutes.
- Finally, drain the water, add salt, sugar, peppercorns, allspice.
- As soon as the water boils, add vinegar. Stir quickly and fill the jars with the prepared marinade.
- Screw on the caps.
- Turn the jars over and wrap them with thick cloth.
- After 72 hours, remove to a cool, dark place.
How to prepare cucumbers with apple cider vinegar for the winter: tips
If you are still new to pickling, listen to advice from experienced housewives:
- To extend shelf life, add grain mustard or oak leaf to the recipe.
- Try not to ignore the sterilization process. This will significantly reduce the amount of apple cider vinegar.
- It is not necessary to cut off the tails from both ends of the cucumber if the fruits are not bitter. But if you cut it, it won't be any worse.
Storage recommendations
Once you have rolled up the jars, turn them over. Then the marinade will be evenly distributed throughout the entire container. Cover the jars with something thick: a blanket, a towel, a blanket, an old jacket. The natural sterilization process will work. The shelter will retain heat, the jars will cool more slowly and the risk of the lids swelling will be reduced.
After two or three days, the jars can be taken to a place of permanent storage (cellar, unheated corridor). It is advisable to eat up the reserves before the onset of the new season. Properly prepared vegetables, of course, will last for two or three years, but their taste will be worse, and there will be no useful substances left.
Let's sum it up
So, apple cider vinegar is a reliable ally of housewives when preparing cucumbers for the winter. It contains vitamins and microelements, prevents product spoilage and the appearance of unpleasant odors and foreign tastes in vegetables. Do not forget to pay attention to the percentage of vinegar and follow the dosage: the lower the concentration, the more vinegar is needed.
Bon appetit!