Why are pickles empty inside and how to make them correctly, preventing this problem

Russian cuisine is distinguished by a wide variety of all kinds of pickles, but cucumbers occupy a special place among them. When ideally prepared, they should be crispy and strong, but it happens that the hostess and her guests are disappointed - the outwardly appetizing vegetable turns out to be hollow inside.

In the article we will answer the question: why are pickles empty inside, and will give recommendations on how to avoid this when canning.

Reasons for the emptiness inside pickles

The main reason why voids form inside a cucumber, is a rupture of the tissues of the seminal chamber under the pressure of gases. These cavities may be present in the vegetable while it is still fresh or appear during the fermentation process.

Simply put, two options are possible:

• the fruit was salted when it was already hollow;
• it became like this after salting.

Among the factors leading to ruptures:

• violation of agricultural practices during cultivation: improper watering, excessive or insufficient fertilizing;
• errors in storing crops and canned products;
• slow cooking with the release of large amounts of gases;
• overripeness of fruits.

Storage errors

Often improper storage leads to the formation of voids inside the pickled cucumber pickles.

The following errors are highlighted:

1. Temperature regime.When storing pickles in uncooled rooms, the air content in vegetables increases, partial breakdown of proteins and more rapid aging of tissues occurs, which noticeably worsens their structure, including causing the appearance of cavities.
2. Duration of storage. The longer the period, the more significant the destruction of lactic acid. This does not have the best effect not only on the consistency of the product, but also on its taste.
3. Loss of tightness. In this case, microorganisms enter the brine, increasing gas formation inside the cucumber.

The optimal storage temperature for pickled cucumbers in rolled up jars is from -1°C to +4°C at humidity 80–90%. In such conditions, homemade products have a shelf life of 8-9 months. If the container has been opened, the contents should be consumed within a few days.

Storing pickles in barrels for a long time is undesirable.. It is difficult to achieve perfect tightness in such a container; in addition, brine often leaks out of it. Topping up does not help the situation, since it cannot replenish the required amount of lactic acid and other organic substances.

Reference! You can improve the quality of barrel pickles by sealing and tarring the tubs and storing them buried in ice.

For a long shelf life, it is better to choose small fruits or gherkins, since they tolerate negative changes better than large ones.

Incorrect salting technology

The formation of voids inside cucumbers the following actions contribute:

1. Salting is not on the day of harvest. After 2-3 days, picked cucumbers lose some of their moisture and wither. Later, when salted, they will be wrinkled on the outside and hollow on the inside.
2. Avoid soaking.Pre-soaking vegetables allows them to replenish some of the lost moisture. The more “flaccid” the cucumbers, the longer they should be kept in water.
3. Large and small fruits in one container for pickling. The speed of fermentation of sugar into lactic acid, and subsequently the shelf life of pickles, depends on their size.

Attention! “Different-sized” cucumbers have differences in chemical composition, pulp density, size of the seed chamber and the volume of air inside it.

Drawbacks in the marinade

The key to delicious canned food is the right marinade. If during its preparation you do not take into account the physics and chemistry of the salting process, the risk of error increases.

Reference! During fermentation, there is an increased release of cell sap into the brine (osmosis) and absorption of salt from the brine by the fruit tissue (diffusion). The formation of voids is the result of dehydration of cucumbers, i.e. imbalance between these processes.

Loose and hollow cucumbers are obtained if:

1. Soft water is used for brine. In a soft environment, cucumbers lose their elasticity. Brine in water with a hardness of 43-45° gives sufficient density to canned vegetables.
2. The strength of the brine is incorrectly calculated. The optimal salt concentration is 6-8%. If it is lower, air remains inside the seed chamber and fermentation occurs more slowly; if it is higher, the cucumbers lose too much moisture.
3. Iodized salt is used. In brine it acts as an antiseptic and prevents lactic acid fermentation. Slow fermentation is one of the reasons for the formation of voids.

Important! In addition to the water hardness, take into account the hardness of the salt: the least is for extra salt, the highest is for 2nd grade salt. These two indicators form the total hardness of the brine.Ideally, it should be between 60-75°.

Bad cucumbers

Even if the recommended storage conditions were met, the salting technology and a high-quality marinade were prepared, “wrong”, i.e. poorly selected cucumbers may be hollow inside.

More often this happens for the following reasons:

1. Overripe or too large specimens. The larger the seed chamber, the more air there is in it and the more likely the formation of voids.
2. Cucumbers picked on hot days. As the temperature rises, the vegetable rapidly loses moisture. When salting, this is fraught with the appearance of voids.
3. Pickling salad cucumbers. They have smooth skin and white spines and are not suitable for canning. Lumpy, pimply varieties are preferable, since their surface area is larger, and, therefore, diffusion occurs faster.

Reference! During peak fruiting, the cucumber crop is harvested every morning, preferably after dew or after rain. At the same time, the greenest, strongest and youngest specimens are selected.

Errors during cultivation

From a botanical point of view, voids in cucumbers are a consequence of impaired development of the fetal placentawhere the seed primordia are located. The root of evil most often lies in incorrect agricultural practices and, less often, in viral diseases of the crop.

Dehydration causes hollow cucumbers to form.. The explanation for this is simple: cucumbers are 90-95% water; if there is none, a void is formed. At the same time, externally, thanks to the dense peel, the fruits can look great.

Causes of dehydration:

• insufficient irrigation;
• abundant watering after a long period of drought;
• poor sandy soils that do not retain moisture well;
• soil salt imbalance due to a lack of mineral fertilizers - potassium, phosphorus, calcium and others - and excess nitrogen in ammonium form;
• hot, dry air;
• large range of night and day temperatures;
• untimely harvesting - when the fruits are overripe, they begin to draw moisture from their own resources.

Solve problems Following simple rules will help:

1. Nitrogen fertilizers used only at an early stage of plant development - for the formation of the root system and the growth of green mass.
2. During the flowering and ovary phase, fruits need complex mineral fertilizers - potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and others.
3. Watering should be regular. Soil moisture should not fall below 75%.
4. Drying out of the top layer of soil can be avoided by using a 15-centimeter layer of mulch under the bushes.
5. To maintain optimal temperature at night, cucumber beds are insulated with covering material.

Unsuitable variety

Choosing the right variety of cucumbers for pickling includes the following criteria::

1. According to their intended use, varieties are divided into three groups: salad, universal and canning. Less often than others, hollow cucumbers are used for canning, more often - salad cucumbers for greenhouse cultivation.
2. Cucumbers for canning are divided depending on size into pickles (3-5 cm), gherkins of the first group (7-9 cm) and second group (no more than 12 cm).
3. According to the time of ripening, early-ripening, mid-ripening and late-ripening varieties are distinguished. If there is a short summer season ahead, the choice in favor of early ripening species is obvious. On the other hand, such hybrids bear fruit with hollow cucumbers by autumn. The reaction to cold and shortened daylight hours affects.
4. Exist parthenocarpic hybrids capable of producing fruits without pollination.Such cucumbers contain practically no seeds or their seeds are small and underdeveloped. Consequently, the seed box does not rupture and voids appear.

The most popular varieties and hybrids:

• Pikuli: F1 Son of the regiment, F1 Filippok, F1 White Angel, F1 Moth, Sweet Crunch, F1 Marinade.
• Gherkins: Parisian gherkin, F1 Everyone's envy, Firestarter, F1 Lilliputian, F1 Caesar, F1 Granddaughter, F1 Capricorn.
• Parthenocarpic: F1 Boy with Thumb, F1 Petrel, F1 Anyuta, F1 Hermann, F1 Marcella, F1 Real owner, etc.

How to pickle cucumbers correctly to avoid emptiness inside

To prevent pickled cucumbers from being empty inside, you need to properly pickle them.

Experts suggest the following algorithm of actions:

1. Choose young, green and strong fruits. It’s okay if they are not fully ripe, but overripe specimens will not be suitable.
2. Wash and soak the cucumbers in cold water for 3-6 hours. After soaking, they should look swollen and elastic.
3. Before salting, sort vegetables by size.
4. For homemade preparations, containers with a volume of no more than 10 liters are recommended. It is pre-washed with soda and sterilized in boiling water.
5. Dense vertical stacking of cucumbers is preferable. Spices are placed at the bottom of the container and between the rows of vegetables. Classic set: peppercorns, garlic cloves, dill umbrellas, horseradish leaves, black currants and cherries.
6. To obtain a 6% brine, 60 g of salt (2 tbsp) are dissolved in 1 liter of boiling water.
7. With the hot method, the cucumbers are poured with brine at room temperature and left for a week. Then the resulting foam is removed, the brine is drained and boiled again, and the cucumbers are washed with cold water.After the new “filling”, the jars are rolled up or covered with thick plastic lids.
8. The cold method differs in that the brine is boiled only at the preparation stage, and after fermentation is complete (after 4-5 days) it is added in the volume that the cucumbers absorbed.

Reference! Particular attention is paid to spices, as they not only improve the taste of pickles, but also balance the enzymatic process, inhibit the processes of putrefactive decomposition of substances and extend the shelf life of the finished product. However, the total mass of spices should not exceed 5% of the weight of cucumbers.

Advice from experienced housewives

Complements scientific calculations advice from “kitchen practitioners”, proven over the years:

1. Even hollow cucumbers can be pickled if you first soak them in salted water. This “rehearsal” will speed up the fruit’s absorption: the tissues will absorb the salt, and it will retain moisture inside the cucumber.
2. A cold ice bath will help “bring to life” cucumbers that are not quite fresh and soft. The vegetables will become dense and crispy and will not lose their shape during pickling.
3. You can reduce the risk of voids forming in pickles by piercing each fruit.
4. For brine, it is better to choose clean well or spring water. Hard water pipes can be settled, but not filtered!
5. Rock salt has proven itself well in home preparations. It is better to leave fashionable Himalayan, iodized or sea for other dishes.
6. If barrels are used for pickling, oak or alder are preferable. These types of wood do not absorb brine, do not rot, and give cucumbers a pleasant aroma.

It can be useful:

How to store pickles in an apartment

What to do if the cucumbers in the jar become cloudy

Why do jars of cucumbers explode?

Conclusion

The formation of voids inside a cucumber is influenced by many factors. Fresh fruits become hollow due to dehydration as a result of errors in agricultural technology and care. This can be avoided by maintaining optimal soil moisture and salt balance. It is also better to choose hybrids with small seed chambers.

Pre-soaking the cucumbers, accurately calculating the strength and hardness of the brine, and properly storing the pickles will help prevent tissue rupture during fermentation.