Sweet pickled crispy cucumbers for the winter
Pickled cucumbers are a great appetizer, and in winter, when fresh vegetables aren't as tasty, they're always a welcome addition. There are many recipes for making them: some add more vinegar, others add mustard or oak leaves...
Our version today is different in that we add more sugar to the marinade. The result is sweet, delicious, and crunchy pickles. Try this recipe; you're sure to love it!
Ingredients for 1 liter:
- 600 g cucumbers;
- 0.5 cm ring of hot pepper;
- 1 umbrella of dill;
- 5-6 cm - a piece of horseradish leaf;
- 2 cm - a piece of horseradish root;
- 1 leaf each of cherry and black currant;
- 0.5 teaspoon mustard seeds;
- 3-4 black peppercorns;
- 3 cloves of garlic.
Marinade for 1 liter of water:
- 2 tablespoons of salt;
- 3 tablespoons of sugar;
- 70 ml vinegar 9%.
How to make crispy pickled cucumbers
It's best to preserve small cucumbers rather than large ones—they'll look prettier and taste better. Wash the cucumbers thoroughly and trim the ends. I canned home-brewed cucumbers, so I didn't soak them. However, if you're pickling cucumbers from the market or supermarket, let them sit in cold water for a couple of hours before jarring.
Prepare the greens: thoroughly wash all the leaves, cut the horseradish leaves into small pieces, 3-4 cm long. Peel the horseradish root, rinse thoroughly, and cut into rings. Wash the hot peppers and cut into rings. Peel and rinse the garlic. Cut large cloves in half lengthwise.
Place all the spices at the bottom of pre-sterilized jars.
It's best to initially stack the cucumbers vertically, as closely as possible. If the cucumbers are small, you can stack the second row vertically; otherwise, arrange them horizontally.
Place some horseradish leaves and dill on top of the cucumbers.
For the marinade, boil the required amount of water, adding salt and sugar first. It's important that the salt and sugar dissolve completely. Then turn off the heat and pour vinegar into the marinade. Stir and add the prepared marinade to the jars containing the cucumbers.
Now the jars need to be sterilized. To do this, as with any other preserves, place the jars in a large saucepan, fill it with warm water, and heat. When the water in the saucepan boils, start timing it – after 15 minutes, the cucumbers will be sterilized.
Immediately seal the jars—roll them up with a key or screw them on. Place the sealed jars on the lid, upside down. Let them sit there until they've cooled completely.
Typically, winter pickles are stored in a cool place. But this pickled cucumber recipe is sterilized and contains a generous amount of vinegar in the marinade, so you can simply store them at home—in the pantry or kitchen cabinet.
