Pickled cucumbers – an old grandmother's recipe
Pickled cucumbers in pickles is a very old, often forgotten recipe for pickling cucumbers in a jar for the winter without sterilization. This recipe, with step-by-step photos, describes the method our grandmothers and great-grandmothers used. The highlight of this recipe is that the cucumbers are fermented without adding water, in the cucumbers themselves, which gives the vegetables a rich, truly cucumber-like flavor.
By pickling cucumbers this way, you'll not only get delicious pickled cucumbers, but also a wonderful addition to rassolnik in the form of salted grated cucumbers.
Ingredients:
- young cucumbers;
- 1.5 kg of overgrown cucumbers (for a three-liter jar);
- 1 tbsp. dill sprigs;
- horseradish leaves;
- 5 cloves of garlic;
- 100 g of salt.
How to make pickled cucumbers without sterilization
Pickle cucumbers in a three-liter jar. Wash and sort the cucumbers: select young, smooth cucumbers for pickling, and overgrown, gnarled ones for brine.
Grate the overripe cucumbers on a coarse grater, finely chop the dill (including the umbels), and thinly slice the garlic. Place everything in a bowl, add salt, and mix. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes to release the juices. Place a chopped horseradish leaf at the bottom of the jar, then a layer of the cucumber mixture.
Place the washed cucumbers in a single layer in the jar, then add the cucumber mixture, packing it tightly into the empty spaces between the cucumbers. Fill the jar completely, alternating layers of whole and grated cucumbers. Add the remaining juice until the jar is filled to the brim.
Cover the jar with a plastic lid and immediately store it in the cellar or refrigerator. During fermentation, juice may leak out of the jar, so it's best to place the jar on a plate or kitchen towel.
Pickled cucumbers will be ready in about a week to a week and a half. Pickling these cucumbers is very convenient. The cucumber brine with garlic and dill can be safely used in making rassolnik (a soup made with pickled cucumbers). The cucumbers themselves, soaked in their own juice, are no worse than barrel-pickled cucumbers, and taste just like they did in childhood. Enjoy!
