Content
- 1 Why canned cucumbers explode?
- 1.1 Incorrect cucumber varieties selected for preservation
- 1.2 Poorly washed jars and vegetables
- 1.3 Poor quality of water and salt
- 1.4 Violation of the cooking recipe
- 1.5 Expired vinegar or citric acid
- 1.6 Violation of canning technology
- 1.7 Sterilization of jars and lids
- 1.8 Crowded banks
- 1.9 Defective lids and faulty seaming machine
- 1.10 Violation of storage rules
- 2 What to do with cucumbers if the jars have already exploded
- 3 How to pickle cucumbers correctly so they don’t explode
- 4 Conclusion
Cucumbers in jars explode for many reasons - both incorrectly selected cucumbers and incorrect canning technology can lead to trouble. To pickle cucumbers correctly, you need to know what causes jars to explode and not make basic mistakes.
Why canned cucumbers explode?
After proper preservation, salted or pickled cucumbers can be stored for a very long time - up to a couple of years.But it’s not so rare that an unpleasant situation occurs - fresh canned food simply explodes, or rather, the lids on the cans swell and fly off the neck by themselves.
There are quite a few reasons why jars of cucumbers explode. However, the original source of the problem is always the same - fermentation processes occur in the jar of pickles, which should not normally occur. As a result, carbon dioxide is released in the brine, gradually accumulates, looks for a way out, and eventually simply rips the lid off the workpiece.
To prevent canned cucumbers from exploding, it is necessary to take a closer look at all possible mistakes made during the pickling process.
Jars explode due to the fermentation process starting in them
Incorrect cucumber varieties selected for preservation
Cucumbers often explode due to the fact that the wrong varieties were initially chosen for preparing canned food. You can pickle cucumbers for the winter to prevent them from exploding only if the variety is suitable for canning. For example, the varieties Nezhinsky, Muromsky, Kustovoy and Voronezhsky, Aristocrat F1, Favorit, Avangard and others are suitable for harvesting. Pickling cucumbers are distinguished by their small size, sweetish taste, very dense flesh and the presence of hard spines on the skin.
Universal varieties are also allowed to be preserved. But salad cucumbers are only suitable for fresh consumption, that is, in salads, and in principle they are not suitable for pickling. In the jar they soften, begin to deteriorate and ferment, and then explode.
Poorly washed jars and vegetables
When canning cucumbers, it is very important to maintain complete sterility.Often, fermentation processes in jars begin due to the presence of microorganisms; during their life processes, they release carbon dioxide, and the preparations explode.
Bacteria in jars usually accumulate at the very bottom, where it is difficult to reach with a sponge when washing the container, or on the ribbed neck. Also, microorganisms can remain on the cucumbers themselves if they were not washed thoroughly before canning, but only quickly rinsed under the tap.
Containers must be sterilized very carefully before salting.
Poor quality of water and salt
Sometimes the reason why cucumbers explode is due to water and salt that are not suitable for pickling. Water for canning vegetables must be clean, distilled, or at least boiled. Under no circumstances should you use regular tap water - the water supply often contains harmful bacteria that can spoil the pickles.
To prevent the jars from exploding, you need to salt cucumbers only with high-quality salt with special markings on the packaging allowing it to be used for preparations. Iodized salt cannot be used; only regular food salt, which has been stored according to all the rules, is suitable.
Violation of the cooking recipe
It is necessary to preserve cucumbers in strict accordance with a proven recipe, otherwise they will explode. The proportions of ingredients when salting are of great importance. If you add a little more salt or vinegar, or add too much sugar or citric acid, at best the product will acquire an unexpected taste. But more often, cucumbers explode if the proportions are not correct, and the whole procedure has to be done again.
Expired vinegar or citric acid
When canning vegetables, citric acid and vinegar act as substances responsible for preserving beneficial compounds and taste, in other words, they are natural preservatives. And the quality of these ingredients must be unconditional; if citric acid or vinegar is expired, then the jars will inevitably explode.
Only small, dense cucumbers with hard pimples should be used for pickling.
Violation of canning technology
Canning cucumbers, in which the jars do not explode, is a complex technological process in which amateur efforts should not be made. It is necessary to follow a proven recipe exactly, step by step - take the ingredients in the prescribed quantities, adhere to the correct processing time for the products. If you measure the ingredients “by eye” and time the cooking time without a watch, then a situation will almost inevitably arise in which the cucumbers explode.
When canning, you should not skip the cooking steps indicated in the recipe, even if their meaning is not entirely clear. For example, before pickling, it is mandatory to not only wash cucumbers, but also soak them. First of all, this allows you to efficiently remove dirt and bacteria from them, as well as remove possible nitrates.
In addition, vegetables absorb a sufficient amount of moisture - if the cucumber was picked from the garden at least a few hours before pickling, it means that it has dried out slightly and is not suitable for immediate canning. When soaking, excess air comes out of the cucumber pulp; if it leaves the vegetables already in brine, the preparations often explode.
When canning, you must follow the chosen recipe exactly.
Sterilization of jars and lids
Almost inevitably, pickled cucumbers explode if the container is poorly sterilized or lacks it. Sterilization of jars and lids is the most important stage of preparation; it allows you to eliminate all microorganisms on the surface of the container.
Sometimes housewives sterilize jars over steam too quickly, and as a result, germs still remain inside the containers. There is a common situation when lids for workpieces are not subject to sterilization in principle, but nevertheless they must be processed in boiling water to eliminate microbes.
Crowded banks
Cucumbers explode if you roll them too tightly in a jar. Housewives usually remember well the rule that the brine should completely cover the vegetables.
But at the same time, many people forget that there should be a couple of centimeters between the surface of the brine and the lid, and the vegetables should be slightly below the liquid level. You cannot fill the jar with brine without leaving any residue, and you also cannot stuff too many cucumbers into the container.If the recipe suggests pickling vegetables as a whole, then it is forbidden to additionally add cut cucumbers to the container in order to fill the free space with them.
Vegetables should not be packed too tightly into the jar.
Defective lids and faulty seaming machine
According to the rules of canning, it is not enough to simply close jars of cucumbers with lids. They need to be rolled up tightly so that outside air does not enter the jar at all. If this condition is met, then the product can retain its freshness and benefits for months.
But with defective lids that do not fit tightly to the neck, the seal is broken, and air still gets inside the container. Also, the workpiece can explode due to a poorly functioning seaming machine if it fails to cope with its functions. Before harvesting cucumbers, you must carefully inspect the lids and, if necessary, repair or replace the seaming machine, otherwise unpleasant situations will arise.
Violation of storage rules
Even if all canning rules are followed, jars of cucumbers often explode. The reason is improper storage of workpieces. When storing cucumbers for the winter, it is important to allow the vegetables to cool naturally under a warm blanket according to all the rules and only then put them away for storage in a cool place.
It is not recommended to keep jars of canned cucumbers in the light, place them in a too warm place or in a room with an unstable temperature. In such circumstances, cucumbers become cloudy, swell and explode much more often.
What to do with cucumbers if the jars have already exploded
Every housewife has heard about the dangers of spoiled canned food.But at the same time, it can be a pity to throw away the preparations, especially if the cucumbers explode in large quantities and almost all the pickling is lost.
If the jars exploded just a couple of days ago, the vegetables can still be saved
It is not always necessary to dispose of exploding vegetables; sometimes they can be saved. If cucumbers explode, then they can be processed again if no more than 3 days have passed since the day the canned food was prepared.
How to save cucumbers if the jars exploded the next day
If freshly sealed canned food explodes, you can try to resuscitate it. To do this you need:
- rinse the vegetables under cold tap water and then rinse in salt water, dissolving 30 g of salt in 1 liter of liquid;
- Place the cucumbers in cold water for another 20 minutes;
- thoroughly sterilize jars and lids;
- strain the brine from the herbs and seasonings, and then boil it twice for 15 minutes.
After this, the cucumbers are put back into sterile jars, filled with hot brine and a little vinegar is added to the container - 1 small spoon per 3-liter jar. The container is sealed and left to cool.
How to pickle cucumbers correctly so they don’t explode
If cucumbers explode, they cannot always be saved. It is much easier to pickle cucumbers right away so that they do not explode - according to all the rules, avoiding swelling of the lids and clouding of the brine. To ensure that the workpieces turn out to be of high quality and do not deteriorate, it is enough to follow simple recommendations.
You need to salt vegetables using universal table salt - sea salt and iodized salt are not suitable.
Rules for selecting and preparing main ingredients
Not all varieties of cucumbers are suitable for canning, but only universal varieties and those designed specifically for pickling. There are quite a few specific varieties, but they all have common features, namely:
- small sizes;
- dense structure;
- sweetish taste without bitterness;
- the presence of hard small dark-colored spikes on the peel.
Long, smooth cucumbers without thorns or with white thorns are not suitable for canning; they can only be eaten fresh.
When choosing ingredients, you should pay attention not only to cucumbers, but also to other products. To prevent cucumbers from exploding, you need to preserve them in fresh, not expired vinegar and all-purpose table salt, stored in a clean container in a dry place. Before pickling, cucumbers must not only be washed, but also soaked to remove all contaminants and allow excess air to escape from the pulp.
Rules for pickling cucumbers so that the jars do not explode
The main rule that allows you to prepare canned cucumbers so that they do not explode is to strictly follow the chosen recipe. If you strictly adhere to the proven algorithm, cucumbers will not explode or become cloudy in the brine.
Since the quality of the product largely depends on the quality of the liquid, it is best to buy filtered water for canning. When using homemade water, cucumbers sometimes explode, since even boiled liquid can contain excess impurities.
If the cucumbers for pickling were grown in your own garden and were recently picked from the garden, then you can soak them for just an hour.It is better to soak store-bought vegetables for a whole day. After long processing, they explode less often because they release all the air, become saturated with moisture, and harmful substances leave the cucumber pulp.
Citric acid is useful in canning, but it cannot replace vinegar.
Many recipes suggest salting cucumbers to prevent them from exploding, using citric acid, aspirin or spices. When using such recipes, the preparations explode less often, since the listed substances prevent fermentation processes.
Do I need to turn the jars over after rolling?
A mandatory step in preparing vegetables for the winter is turning the rolled up cans upside down. In this case, the lid warms up properly from contact with hot brine or marinade, and the risk of the container exploding due to temperature changes or microorganisms remaining under the lid is reduced.
Why wrap jars of pickled cucumbers?
After rolling, the jars are not only turned over, but also wrapped in a warm towel or blanket for several hours. This is done so that the jar can cool slowly and evenly. In this case, the brine with cucumbers will retain its transparency, and the lid on the jar will not swell.
Storage rules
It is necessary to store crispy cucumbers for the winter that do not explode at a cool temperature of 3 to 5 ° C in the refrigerator or cellar, if we are talking about a private home.Pickles and pickled vegetables retain their freshness best if they are not exposed to temperature changes and direct exposure to light. Subject to proper storage conditions, pickled cucumbers can remain suitable for consumption for up to 8 months, and vegetables pickled in vinegar for up to 2 years.
Canned vegetables should be stored cool and without temperature changes.
Conclusion
Cucumbers in jars explode due to microorganisms getting into the brine, poorly sterilized containers or low-quality ingredients. To prepare high-quality preparations and preserve them for a long time, you need to strictly follow the main rules for canning vegetables.
