Recipe for crispy lightly salted cucumbers

Content

1 Cooking secrets
- 1.1 Spices and additives for cucumbers
2 Recipes for quick-cooking lightly salted cucumbers
3 Conclusion

In the summer, when the time for cucumbers begins, crispy lightly salted cucumbers occupy a special place on our tables. They are valued for their taste and retain the excellent aroma of fresh cucumbers. There are a lot of cooking recipes, and lately housewives have been sharing the secrets of quick salting that do not affect the taste of the popular snack. Let's talk about how to prepare crispy lightly salted cucumbers at home using cold and hot methods.

Cooking secrets

Today you can prepare lightly salted cucumbers in various ways:

in a large container (for example, in a saucepan);
in a jar (including for the winter);
in a package and so on.

As a rule, the ripening season for fresh cucumbers in our beds begins in June. They are consumed fresh, in salads and are certainly salted. Despite the simplicity of traditional recipes, preparing crispy lightly salted cucumbers is an art. Some people love spicy cucumbers, while others, on the contrary, do not tolerate a lot of spices.

Let's consider several options for salting cucumbers:

dry salting;
cold;
hot.

Let's figure out which of them is considered the fastest and will not affect the crunchy properties of cucumbers.Let's talk about secrets, since they are very important in the cooking process:

To ensure that cucumbers are salted as quickly as possible, choose small vegetables rather than large ones;
It is also appropriate to cut the fruits into halves and quarters and make punctures with a fork;
vegetables for salting should be the same size, so their taste will be uniform;
two hours before cooking, it is better to put them in clean cold water, so they will retain their crunch;
when salting in a jar, do not compact them very tightly, this will affect the crispy properties;
the ends are always trimmed before cooking;
When preparing lightly salted cucumbers in brine, you do not need to close the jar or pan tightly, disrupting the fermentation process.

Using these tricks, housewives can easily cope with the task.

Important! When pickling cucumbers in a jar, they need to be placed vertically, so they will be salted better and faster.

Spices and additives for cucumbers

Let's talk about the ingredients. This is very important, because the quality and taste of the dish depends on them. So, cucumbers should be small and fresh. It is advisable to collect them from the garden right before salting.

Advice! If they are a little wilted, place them in cold water for at least an hour.

As for the water when using brine, it should be clean and preferably bottled or spring water. You only need a little bit, but the quality of the water will affect the taste of the finished product.

Let's talk about greenery. Classic recipes traditionally use:

dill;
horseradish leaves and root;
cherry leaves;
parsley;
black currant leaves.

You can also add tarragon, anise umbrellas, and oak leaves to this list. A harmonious combination will allow the housewife, after experimenting, to create her own unique recipe for lightly salted cucumbers.

Advice! Using even a small amount of horseradish will add elasticity to lightly salted cucumbers. They will crisp better.

As for spices, traditionally this list includes:

Bay leaf;
garlic;
hot peppers;
carnation.

You can add allspice and other spices, experimenting with the spiciness of the appetizer. And, of course, we can’t help but talk about salt. This is the main component of lightly salted cucumbers, and a lot depends on its quality. Salt should be coarse and not iodized. It is better to use good quality sea salt; cucumbers love this kind of salt.

Additionally, when pickling cucumbers, you can use sour apples, Cherry tomatoes, zucchini, celery and even lime.

Recipes for quick-cooking lightly salted cucumbers

Let's look at some interesting recipes for quick-cooking lightly salted cucumbers. After familiarizing yourself with them, you can use any you like or take some tips into account.

Advice! If lightly salted cucumbers need to be stored for some time, you need to do this in a refrigerator or cold cellar, where the temperature does not exceed +5 degrees.

Otherwise, the cucumbers will soon become too salty.

When using cold brine

When using this recipe, lightly salted cucumbers will be ready no earlier than in two days. This method is considered classic, but, alas, not the fastest. Its essence lies in the fact that cucumbers are filled with cold brine with spices. It is made from water and salt in the required proportions right before pouring.

So, for preparation you will need:

one kilogram of cucumbers;
one head of garlic (small or medium);
black pepper - 8-10 peas;
currant leaves - 6-8 pieces;
cherry leaves - 3-4 pieces;
a bunch of parsley and dill (you can use a large mixture or one small one at a time).

You can also add 2 sour apples. The cucumbers are kept in cold water for an hour or two, and then the ends are cut off. They accumulate nitrates, so it is better to get rid of them. The greens for cucumbers are cut finely, the garlic is squeezed through a press or chopped finely. Now everything fits into jars. If you make this snack with apples, you must first cut them into four parts.

Packing into jars is done with alternating ingredients. Dill and parsley can be placed on top. The brine is prepared very simply: salt (1.5 tablespoons) is mixed with cold water (1 liter). It’s better to prepare a little more brine at once and pour it over the cucumbers to the top. The jars are not covered with lids; you can cover them with gauze and put them away for two days. After this time, the cucumbers will be salted and become a decoration for your table!

When using hot brine

This recipe allows the housewife to prepare a delicious appetizer of lightly salted cucumbers in just 8 hours. This is convenient, because you can leave them to prepare overnight and delight your household in the morning. So, for these lightly salted cucumbers you will need:

one kilogram of cucumbers;
honey - 10 grams;
fresh hot pepper red or green - 1-2 pieces to taste;
bay leaf - 2 pieces;
garlic head - one medium size;
salt;
dill with umbrellas - 1-2 pieces;
cherry leaves - 5-10 pieces;
currant leaves - 5-10 pieces;
horseradish leaves - 10-15 pieces;
vodka - 20-40 ml.

All greens are thoroughly washed and dried on a napkin. At this time, the cucumbers are soaked in cold water. Cucumbers are standardly trimmed and placed in a saucepan or glass jar. If using a pan, let it be enameled.The hot pepper should be cut into 3-4 parts, the garlic should be put through a press. All greens are cut coarsely and placed in a pan or jar. Greens can be placed on the bottom or distributed proportionally.

Now all the ingredients need to be filled with brine. It will be hot, but not boiling. Boil 1 liter of water, add one dessert spoon of honey to it. Now add salt in the amount of 3-4 level tablespoons.

Advice! Lastly, vodka is added - this is another secret of crispy cucumbers.

To enhance the spicy taste, you can add a few black peppercorns, cloves and thyme seeds. Hot peppers will give some bitterness. If someone does not like the spicy taste, you should do without pepper.

Lightly salted cucumbers are prepared in the same way for the winter. To do this, first prepare a cold brine in the following proportion: 3-4 tablespoons of salt per two liters of water. Right before pouring the brine into the jars, bring it to a boil and turn it off. In this case, it is important to maintain the proportions, because the cucumbers will be in the brine longer and you want them to turn out lightly salted, not salted.

Recipe for dry salting cucumbers

It is still unknown who exactly came up with the idea of pickling cucumbers in a bag, but this method is the simplest and fastest. Depending on the size of the fruit and whether they are cut into pieces or not, you can get ready-made cucumbers in 20-30 minutes.

This method is also convenient if you decide to go out of town and spend time in nature. By pickling cucumbers, you will quickly get a delicious summer snack.

Crispy lightly salted quick-cooking cucumbers, the recipe for which will be presented below, will turn out in 2-3 hours if you do not pierce them with a fork. We will need:

1.5 kilograms of cucumbers;
6-8 black peppercorns;
4-5 peas of allspice;
bunch of dill - 1 piece;
dill umbrella - 1 piece;
lime - 4 pieces;
1 teaspoon sugar;
lemon balm sprigs - 5 pieces;
3.5 tablespoons of salt.

Cucumbers can be placed in water in advance if possible. At the same time, you need to prepare the dressing. To do this, grind both types of pepper, 2 tablespoons of salt, sugar and the zest of all the limes in a mortar.

Now finely chop the greens and mint along with the sprigs. You need to squeeze the juice out of the limes. Now you can move on to the cucumbers. The ends are cut off, and be sure to pierce the fruits with a fork in three or four places. If you want to get a ready-made snack in 20-30 minutes, you need to cut them into halves or quarters. This way, the cucumbers will be salted faster. Now the fruits are placed in a bag, greens and a mixture from a mortar are placed there, the bag is closed and everything is thoroughly mixed, shaking it. Open the bag again, pour in lime juice and add the remaining salt. Then the bag is closed again and its contents are mixed by shaking. You can turn the bag over every 10 minutes.

To prevent juice from leaking from cucumbers, you can use two bags. Of course, this is not a classic recipe for lightly salted cucumbers. If you want to get a taste that is very familiar to many, you only need to take cucumbers, dill, peppercorns, salt and garlic. Below is a detailed video with this recipe:

Conclusion

In this case, you can experiment, because, as you know, there are no comrades according to taste and color.

If you know these simple secrets of preparing lightly salted cucumbers, you will be able to delight your friends and the whole family with a delicious instant snack all summer long. Bon appetit!