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In the traditions of Russian cuisine, various pickles have played a significant role from time immemorial. Distinguished by their delicious taste, they also have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the human body. Pickles are not only a source of vitamins in winter, but also speed up enzymatic processes during digestion. They go best with fatty and meat dishes, as they make them easier to digest. But the role of salted and pickled vegetables during Lent is also difficult to overestimate.
Salted green tomatoes are the most typical example of Russian pickles. After all, it is in Russia, because of its unstable and cold climate, that at the end of summer, on the eve of the autumn cold, gardeners have to remove green tomatoes from the bushes in large quantities and think about what to do with them next. Well, pickling green tomatoes for the winter allows you to save almost any amount of tomatoes without special expenses, especially if you live in a house with a cellar, where you can easily store any volume of winter preparations.
Naturally, many beginning gardeners have a logical question: how to pickle green tomatoes for the winter? It is this question that will be answered in detail throughout the article, and several recipes for making salted tomatoes will be given.After all, this process itself can be called creative, since by skillfully selecting various herbs and spices for pickling green tomatoes, you can significantly modify the taste of the finished dish. Well, in winter, you can put a salad with salted tomatoes on the table, or serve them as a separate excellent snack, especially if you season them with oil and fresh herbs.
Recipe “At the Origins of Salting”
Perhaps your great-great relatives used this recipe to salt green tomatoes. And even then they knew and took into account many subtleties that could affect the taste and quality of green tomato preparations.
Secrets of delicious tomatoes
Although in those distant times they preferred to use exclusively wooden utensils for pickling tomatoes: a variety of barrels and tubs, in the modern world glass utensils are more popular. Because it is easier to clean, wash and sterilize. If you are thinking about how to pickle green tomatoes in large quantities, you can use enamel buckets and even large 20-30 liter pans for pickling.
Well, if you manage to get a real oak tub, or at least a small barrel, for pickling green tomatoes, then the taste of the finished tomatoes will be, as they say, “finger-licking good.”
True, the degree of ripeness, and the size of the green tomatoes themselves, still matters. Very small and dark green tomatoes are most likely not suitable for pickling.They still contain too much solanine, a substance that is toxic to humans, but is destroyed under the influence of hot water and saline solution. Experience shows that the most delicious salted tomatoes are obtained from light green, almost white or even brownish tomatoes.
A variety of spices play an important role in obtaining the unique taste of salted tomatoes. They largely determine the quality of the finished dish. For example, herbs such as blackcurrant, cherry, oak and horseradish leaves increase the shelf life of pickles and make them crispy. Basil, parsley, dill, tarragon and savory add unique spicy notes to the aroma of green tomato dishes; mustard seeds, garlic, pepper and horseradish roots improve the taste, and celery, black pepper, coriander and the same basil have a beneficial effect on digestion.
Finally, there are some factors that are unusual for the rational mind, which nevertheless have been taken into account when preparing pickles for a long time. It has long been noticed that pickles made during the full moon are not very tasty and spoil quite quickly. For example, vegetables become soft and rather tasteless.
Cold salting process
The recipe for pickling green tomatoes is simple and difficulties can arise only with finding some spices and seasonings.However, you can always use what you have on hand to start with, and then add rarer herbs if possible.
On average, for 10 kg of green tomatoes you will need to prepare:
- Several dozen leaves of cherry and black currant;
- 5-6 laurel and oak leaves;
- 200 g of dill inflorescences and herbs;
- Several varieties of spicy herbs, 100 grams each (parsley, celery, basil, tarragon, marjoram, savory);
- A few horseradish leaves;
- If desired, horseradish root, cut into small pieces, a few pods of hot pepper, a few tablespoons of mustard seeds and a few heads of garlic;
- 10 peas each of allspice and black pepper.
To pickle green tomatoes using the first method, you only need the tomatoes themselves, spices and salt, which are poured into the peeled and washed tomatoes with herbs during the process of tightly placing them in a container. At the same time, the salt consumption per 10 kg of green tomatoes is approximately 1.1-1.2 kg.
This is the easiest way to salt tomatoes. On top it is enough to put a pressure in the form of a stone or a jar filled with water. If after a few days the juice that comes out of the fruit is not enough to completely cover all the tomatoes, then the required amount of 7% brine must be added to the container on top (that is, use 70 g of salt per 1 liter of water). Such tomatoes should be kept in the room for no more than three days, after which they should be moved to a cool and dark place. The taste of salted tomatoes cooked in their own juice without pouring, of course, cannot be compared with pickled ones, and in terms of usefulness, such a product is superior to preparations that use vinegar.
To pickle green tomatoes using cold pouring, first prepare a brine with a strength of at least 7%.
Pour green tomatoes tightly packed in a suitable container, topped with spices on all sides, with cold brine and leave in the kitchen for 5-6 days. Next, the workpiece must also be moved to a cool place.
Tomatoes prepared using any of these methods can be tasted after 2-3 weeks, but they will acquire a full bouquet of taste and aroma after 5-6 weeks.
Finger lickin' tomatoes
In urban conditions, the easiest way to prepare salted green tomatoes is according to the recipe with the tempting name “You'll lick your fingers.” After all, according to this recipe, tomatoes are prepared immediately in glass jars, so they take up little space and can be stored in a regular refrigerator. In addition, granulated sugar and mustard powder are added to the spices, which makes green tomatoes very tasty.
Despite the tasty name, the recipe is very simple and you just need to find:
- 2 kg of green tomatoes;
- 4 pieces of currant leaves and 6 pieces of cherry leaves;
- 80 grams of dill;
- A couple of oak and horseradish leaves;
- A tablespoon of coriander seeds;
- 50 grams of garlic;
- 6 black peppercorns;
- 2 cloves;
- 2 liters of water;
- 40 grams of salt and sugar;
- 10 grams of mustard powder.
All spices and herbs with vegetables must be washed well and dried a little.In a clean jar, fill the bottom completely with the leaves of herbs, add half a portion of garlic, coriander and pepper.
Then tightly pack the green tomatoes to the middle of the jar, add another layer of spices, again tomatoes and cover everything with the remaining spices and herbs on top. According to the recipe for preparing brine, add salt and sugar to water, boil and when the brine has cooled a little, add mustard powder to it.
Pour the cooled, strained brine into the jars with the tomatoes so that they are completely covered. Place a lid or plate with a weight on top. After 3-4 days, the pickles can be stored in the refrigerator.
Winter preparations according to this recipe can even be stored under normal room conditions if you pour hot brine over the tomatoes, let them stand for 15 minutes, drain the brine, boil it again and pour it over again. It is enough to repeat this procedure 3 times, after which the jars can simply be rolled up.
Once you try to pickle at least a small amount of green tomatoes for the winter, you will see that they disappear faster than all other pickles prepared for the winter. And, perhaps, next year you will be ready in advance for large volumes of preparations.
