Squash marinated for the winter

Many people admire squash with its unusual shape and varied colors. But not every housewife knows how to properly prepare them for the winter so that they remain hard and crispy. After all, in order to get real finger-licking pickled squash for the winter, you need to know a few tricks and secrets that distinguish these unusual vegetables.

How to deliciously pickle squash for the winter

First of all, you should understand that among the closest relatives of squash are not zucchini, as most gardeners think.Another name for squash is plate pumpkin, which means that they are much more closely related to this vegetable. It is not for nothing that fully ripened squash, in size and hardness of its peel, is much more similar to pumpkins and is no longer suitable for consumption, except perhaps for animal feed. And for people, the most tempting are the squashes of very tiny sizes.

Medium-sized vegetables can also be used for preparations. The main thing is that the seeds in them have not yet fully ripened, then the pulp after canning will remain firm and not flaccid.

Of course, tiny squash, no more than 5 cm in size, look very attractive in any jar, but it is not easy to obtain such fruits in quantities sufficient for preservation. To do this, you need to have fairly large squash plantations. Therefore, experienced gardeners and owners often use a trick - they use squash of several sizes at the same time. The larger ones are cut into halves or quarters and placed inside the jars, and the outside is covered with whole “babies”. It turns out both satisfying and beautiful.

In order to get crispy pickled squash in jars for the winter, there is another trick. Large vegetables must be blanched before harvesting for 2-5 minutes (depending on age) in boiling water. But the main thing is to immediately immerse the pieces in very cold water after blanching. Using this technique will provide the future workpiece with an attractive crunchiness.

For many delicious recipes that involve sterilizing pickled squash for the winter, jars of vegetables should not be further insulated after twisting. On the contrary, it is advisable to cool them as quickly as possible.In this case, the canned food will be provided with high taste and organoleptic qualities.

Preparing fruits for pickling consists only of thoroughly washing them and cutting out the stalks on both sides. The skin is usually not cut off; in young fruits it is still tender and thin.

The taste of the squash pulp itself is quite neutral, in this they are more like zucchini than pumpkins. But it is precisely this fact that allows you to actively experiment with a variety of spicy and aromatic additives when making pickled squash. The recipes described below with photos will help you learn how to pickle squash for the winter, even without culinary experience.

Marinade for squash 1 liter

It is most convenient to pickle squash in jars with a volume of 1 to 3 liters. To make it more convenient for the housewife to navigate and further experiment with certain additives for the marinade, here is an example of the layout of all the most commonly used spices for pickling squash per 1 liter jar.

• 550-580 g squash;
• 420-450 ml of water or marinade liquid;
• 3-4 cloves of garlic;
• 2-3 sprigs of parsley;
• 1-2 sprigs with an umbrella of dill;
• 3-4 peas of allspice;
• 1 bay leaf;
• 1/3-1/4 horseradish sheet;
• 2 leaves each of cherry and black currant;
• a piece of red hot pepper;
• 5 black peppercorns;
• 1 tbsp. l. salt;
• 2 tbsp. l. Sahara;
• ½ tsp. vinegar essence.

When using containers of a different size, the required amount of ingredients simply needs to be reduced or increased proportionally.

To begin with, it is better to stick to the classic recipe, and then, as you gain experience, gradually add one or another spice to obtain a variety of flavors.

Classic recipe for pickled squash

In the classic version of pickling squash, the following ingredients are usually used:

• 1 kg squash;
• 1 liter of purified water;
• 2-3 cloves of garlic;
• 2 sprigs of dill and parsley;
• Bay leaf;
• 8 black peppercorns and 4 allspice;
• 2 tbsp. l. salt;
• 3-4 tbsp. l. Sahara;
• 2-3 tbsp. l. 9% vinegar.

And the manufacturing process itself is very simple.

1. The squash is prepared for pickling in the standard way: washed, trimmed off excess parts, and blanched if necessary.
2. A marinade is made from water, salt, sugar, bay leaves and peppercorns. Boil it for about 5 minutes, then pour in vinegar.
3. Place garlic and half the required amount of herbs at the bottom of the pan. Then lay the prepared squash, covering them with the remaining greens on top.
   
4. Pour in slightly cooled marinade, cover with a lid and leave for several days to completely soak at room temperature.
5. After 2-3 days, it is more convenient to transfer the squash along with the marinade into clean jars and store in the refrigerator.

How to pickle squash in jars for the winter

In modern kitchens, it is more often necessary to prepare pickles and marinades with hermetically sealed jars. Since not everyone has enough space in the refrigerator to store all the canned goods. There is nothing particularly difficult about this process. Marinating squash is not fundamentally different from the same process for cucumbers or zucchini.

All ingredients and their proportions can be taken from a standard layout or a classic recipe.

1. Glass containers must be washed thoroughly using a soda solution and be sure to rinse well after that.
   Attention! Since jars with already filled products will necessarily be sterilized, there is no need to pre-sterilize them.
2. First, spices chosen to taste are placed at the bottom of each jar: garlic, pepper, herbs.
3. At the same time, prepare the marinade by heating water with salt and sugar in a separate pan.
   
4. While the marinade is being prepared, the squash fruits are placed in the jars as tightly as possible, but without fanaticism. It is better to cover them with some other greenery on top.
5. The marinade is boiled for about 5 minutes until the spices are completely dissolved, at the end vinegar is added and the squash placed in jars is immediately poured over it.
6. Cover glass containers with boiled metal lids, which are no longer opened during sterilization.
7. For the sterilization process, prepare a wide flat pan. The water level in it should be such that it reaches at least the shoulders of the jar placed in it.
8. The temperature of the water in the pan should be approximately equal to the temperature of the marinade in the jar, that is, it should be quite hot.
9. Place the jars in a pan of water on any stand. Even a kitchen towel folded several times can play its role.
10. The pan is placed on the fire, and after the water boils in it, the jars with pickled squash are sterilized for the required amount of time, depending on their volume.

For squash, it is enough to sterilize liter jars - 8-10 minutes, 2 liter jars - 15 minutes, 3 liter jars - 20 minutes.

Recipe for winter squash marinated with garlic

Garlic is that very necessary seasoning that is necessarily used when making pickled squash for the winter according to any of the recipes. But for special lovers of this spicy-hot vegetable, you can use not a few cloves, but a whole head of garlic per 1 kg of squash. Otherwise, the marinating process is no different from the traditional one. And pickled garlic cloves are very tasty and in themselves are an additional bonus when opening a jar of such preparation in winter.

How to pickle squash for the winter in jars with cherry, horseradish and currant leaves

In general, the leaves of horseradish and fruit trees are traditionally most often used for pickling a variety of vegetables. But it is the cherry and horseradish leaves that are responsible for maintaining crispness in the fruit. And black currant guarantees the brine an incomparable aroma. Therefore, if the recipe for crispy pickled squash for the winter is especially attractive, then among the spices used for pickling, you need to find a place for the leaves of these plants. Usually they are simply placed at the bottom of the jars before adding the squash along with other herbs and spices.

Marinating squash in jars with coriander and mustard seeds for the winter

Using the same standard technology, you can get very tasty spicy pickled squash for the winter, which can rightfully be classified in the “finger-licking” category.

Products for a liter jar you will need:

• 2 medium squash;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• 2 clove buds;
• 5 g coriander seeds;
• 15 cumin seeds;
• about 10 black peppercorns;
• ½ tsp. mustard seeds;
• 2 bay leaves;
• several sprigs of parsley;
• 30 g each of salt, sugar;
• 30 ml vinegar 9%.

How to pickle squash for the winter without sterilization

There are various recipes for making pickled squash for the winter without sterilization. The opinions of different housewives on this matter are quite contradictory. Some believe that it is sterilization, especially long-term, that prevents squash from remaining hard and crispy during pickling. Others, on the contrary, do not risk doing without it, believing that in this case there is a high risk of souring or exploding jars of pickled squash.

Apparently, every housewife should take a risk and try both methods in order to then draw the appropriate conclusions for herself. Here is a recipe for pickled squash without sterilization with the addition of apples. These fruits will not only have a beneficial effect on the taste of the finished canned food, but will also contribute to their better preservation.

You will need:

• 500 g squash;
• 250 g apples;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• half a small capsicum;
• several sprigs of herbs (parsley, dill);
• 1 liter of water;
• 60 g each of salt and sugar;
• 2 tbsp. l. 9% vinegar.

Manufacturing:

1. The stalks of squash are removed, and the seed chambers of apples are removed. If necessary, cut into 2 or 4 parts.
2. All spices, pieces of squash and apples are evenly distributed into pre-sterilized jars.
3. Heat a pan of water to a boil and pour it over the contents of all the jars almost to the very edge.
   
4. Cover with sterile metal lids and leave for some time to soak. For liter jars this time is 5 minutes, for 3 liter jars – 15 minutes.
5. While the jars of squash and apples are infused, in a separate pan, bring the same amount of water to a boil again.
6. Drain the water from the jars, using special lids with holes for convenience, and almost immediately fill them with newly boiled water.
7. Leave for the same period.
   Comment! If 3-liter jars are used for preservation, then the second time they can be filled with ready-made marinade.
8. Drain the water from the cans again.
9. At this point, prepare the marinade from water, sugar and salt, and add vinegar at the end.
10. For the third time, the jars of vegetables and fruits are filled with boiling marinade and immediately sealed hermetically.
11. It is important to keep the caps sterile at all times. To do this, a container of water must be boiling on the stove during production, into which the lids are placed between pours.
12. When using this cooking method, jars of pickled squash can be additionally wrapped upside down for cooling.

A simple recipe for winter squash marinated with cucumbers without sterilization

Using exactly the same simple technology that was described above, pickled squash is prepared along with cucumbers for the winter without sterilization. For cucumbers, this scheme is traditional, so if everything is done correctly and sterilely, then there is no fear of the preparations turning sour. It is important to rinse vegetables very thoroughly to remove possible contamination. Cucumbers also need to be pre-soaked in cold water for several hours.

And the components are used in the following proportions:

• 1 kg of small squash (up to 5-7 mm in diameter);
• 3 kg of cucumbers;
• 2 heads of garlic;
• 3-4 sprigs of dill with inflorescences;
• 10 peas of allspice;
• 14 black peppercorns;
• 6 bay leaves;
• 2 liters of water;
• 60 g each of salt and sugar;
• 30 ml vinegar essence.

Recipe for squash marinated without vinegar for the winter in jars

Not everyone accepts the presence of vinegar in winter preparations. Fortunately, you can do without it by replacing it with the addition of citric acid.

You will need:

• 1 kg squash;
• 8 cloves of garlic;
• 2-3 small horseradish roots;
• 2 carrots;
• 12 buds of cloves and the same number of black peppercorns;
• a pair of dill umbrellas;
• several bay leaves;
• water;
• 2 leaves each of cherry and black currant;
• 4 tsp. salt;
• 2 tbsp. l. Sahara;
• 2 tsp. citric acid.

This quantity of products should yield approximately 4 half-liter jars of pickled vegetables.

The preparation method also does not involve traditional sterilization.

1. The jars are washed, sterilized, half a horseradish root, several cloves of garlic, 3 peppercorns and 3 cloves are placed in each.
2. Fill to the end with whole or halved pieces of squash, cover with herbs on top.
3. Each jar is filled to the top with boiling water, covered with lids and allowed to brew for 8-10 minutes.
4. Then pour the water into a saucepan, add spices, currant leaves, cherries and bay leaves. Boil for 5 minutes.
5. Add half a small spoon of citric acid to each jar, pour boiling marinade over it and seal it tightly.
6. The jars are placed upside down, insulated on all sides and wait to cool.
7. After about 24 hours, they can be transferred to a permanent storage location.

Squash marinated in pieces for the winter

There is also a special recipe, as a result of which pickled squash is difficult to distinguish from mushrooms, for example, milk mushrooms.

You will need:

• 1.5 kg squash;
• 2 medium carrots;
• 1 onion;
• head of garlic;
• 30 g salt;
• 90 g sugar;
• a pinch of ground black pepper;
• 100 ml 9% vinegar;
• 110 ml vegetable oil;
• greens to taste and desire.

Preparation:

1. The squash is washed and cut into small pieces, carrots into thin slices, and onions into half rings.
2. Garlic and herbs are chopped with a knife.
3. Combine all the chopped products in a deep container, add spices and vinegar and mix thoroughly.
4. Leave in a warm place for 3-4 hours.
5. Then they are transferred to clean glass jars and sent for sterilization for at least 20 minutes.
6. Sealed hermetically and stored.

Squash marinated with zucchini and cauliflower

This recipe, an assortment of pickled vegetables, is usually the most popular at the holiday table, since everyone finds the most delicious thing in it, and the contents of the jar disappear in a matter of minutes. It's hard to imagine a better recipe that allows you to pickle squash quickly and easily.

You will need:

• 1 kg squash;
• 700 g cauliflower;
• 500 g of young zucchini;
• 200 g carrots;
• 1 sweet pepper;
• 7-8 pieces of cherry tomatoes;
• half a pod of hot pepper;
• 1 head of garlic;
• 2 onions;
• 60 g salt;
• 100 g sugar;
• dill - to taste;
• 2 tbsp. l. vinegar;
• 8 clove buds;
• 5 peas of allspice.
• from 1.5 to 2 liters of water.

Preparation:

1. Cauliflower is separated into inflorescences and blanched for 4-5 minutes in boiling water.
2. If you are not using the youngest squash, then they are cut into pieces and blanched along with the cabbage.
3. Zucchini is also cut into several pieces, depending on size.
4. Tomatoes are pricked with a toothpick.
5. The peppers are cored and cut into strips.
6. Carrots are cut into circles, onions - into rings, garlic cloves - simply into halves.
7. Spices are placed at the bottom of the jars and then all the pieces of vegetables are evenly distributed.
8. The marinade is prepared in the standard way by boiling salt and sugar in water and adding vinegar at the very end.
9. Pour hot marinade into jars of vegetables and sterilize for 15 minutes.
10. Roll up, cool and put away for winter storage.

Rules for storing pickled squash

Squash marinated in jars will be completely ready about a month after cooking. They must be stored in cool conditions without light. A regular storage room located far from heating systems may be suitable. A cellar or basement is ideal.

Conclusion

Pickled squash for the winter “finger-licking” can be prepared according to several recipes. After all, every family has its own taste and special preferences. But in any case, there is little that can compare with this dish in terms of beauty and originality.

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