How and how much to store lightly salted cucumbers at home after pickling

Cucumbers are considered a popular variety of vegetables, which are distinguished by their versatility. They can be eaten fresh or used to make pickles and for wintering. Before you start preparing pickles, you should familiarize yourself with how to properly store salted cucumbers after pickling.

Features of storing lightly salted cucumbers

Canned cucumbers are called lightly salted only if a small amount of salt was used in their preparation. The main features of such salting include the fact that it is not stored as long as conventional canned vegetables. Therefore, it is recommended to understand the peculiarities of storing lightly salted snacks in advance so that they do not deteriorate too quickly:

1. Food should be stored in a cool place. To prolong the shelf life of cucumbers, they are placed in a cold cellar or an ordinary refrigerator.
2. To keep the preservation longer, the fermentation process is stopped.For this, fruit vegetables are taken out of the brine and transferred to a plastic bag.
3. Small cucumbers are selected for pickling. If large fruits have been chosen for canning, they will need to be cut.

Optimal storage conditions

So that lightly salted canned vegetables do not deteriorate longer, you need to familiarize yourself with the optimal conditions for their further storage.

Temperature

The first factor to watch out for before storing pickles is the temperature. Temperature readings should not be too high and therefore it is recommended that they be between 1 and 2 degrees. In such cool conditions, pickled vegetables will not spoil for two years.

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However, some housewives advise against storing them at such low temperatures and prefer warmer cellars, in which the indicators rise by 1-4 degrees Celsius. However, it should be borne in mind that under such conditions the shelf life of pickles is reduced to nine months.It is contraindicated to store pickles at room temperature, as they will deteriorate in 2-4 days.

Humidity

When choosing a place for further storage of herbal preparations, only the temperature is taken into account, but also the level of air humidity. It is recommended to choose rooms where the air humidity is 85-90%. With this high humidity, the vegetables remain edible throughout the year. If the humidity level is not high enough, the parts will deteriorate much faster. For example, if the air is very dry, pickles will go bad six months after canning.

Lighting

Another factor that can affect the shelf life of canned vegetable products is room lighting. It is contraindicated to leave jars of pickles in rooms with strong sunlight for a long time. This will negatively affect the preservation of salted vegetables. Also, do not store canned cucumbers in basements or rooms with artificial lighting, as this also has a negative effect on their safety.

The shelf life of salted vegetables is 2-3 times less than the shelf life in dark, unlit cellars.

Salting methods and storage time at home

There are five main ways to prepare and store pickles, which should be addressed in advance.

In the bank

The most proven and affordable method of storing cucumber pickles is using regular glass jars. At the same time, experienced housewives recommend storing vegetables in a small container with a volume of one and a half or two liters. In this case, the pickled vegetables will not spoil for a long time, even after opening the containers.

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The advantages of using glass containers are:

• long-term storage with reliable sealing of jars;
• excellent taste of pickles preserved in jars;
• the possibility of storage both in cellars and in conventional refrigerators.

in brine

Some housewives prefer to prepare lightly salted cucumbers in a special brine. At the same time, they need to be salted not in glass containers, but in wooden barrels. This lightly salted cucumber snack is prepared as a result of natural fermentation.In this case, the temperature at which the composition should ferment should not exceed one degree of heat.

It is quite difficult to achieve such low indicators in an apartment, and therefore it is recommended to pickle cucumbers in a special basement or cellar.

Vegetables in brine are not stored for long, since fermentation continues in them, during which bacteria appear and cucumbers deteriorate faster.

In a bag without brine

Cucumbers can be stored without using brine after the natural fermentation process is complete. As a container for further storage, ordinary plastic bags, plastic buckets with lids or containers are used.

Before placing the salted vegetables in the container, put some dried mustard powder on the bottom. The thickness of the layer should be one and a half centimeters. Then spread the bottom layer of cucumbers on top and mix them with mustard powder. Thus, the vegetables are laid out until the container is completely filled.

In a pot

Sometimes housewives prepare cucumber snacks not in glass containers, but in ordinary jars. The main difference between such a preparation is that cucumbers should not be salted for too long, since they are eaten slightly salted.

To prepare cucumber fruit, garlic with spices and pepper is laid out on the bottom of the pan. After that, a layer of vegetables is laid out on top. It is necessary to evenly distribute the fruits so that there is no empty space between them. Then the container is filled with cold water, after which it is taken out into a warm room for 3-4 days. Cucumbers pickled in this way are stored for a short time, so it is better to eat them within a week.

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Mineral water

People who want to quickly prepare cucumber snacks prepare them on the basis of mineral water. With this method, you can get the final result the very next day. To pickle the vegetables, about 400 to 500 milliliters of sparkling water are put in the container. Then salt and cucumbers are added to a bowl of liquid. After that, they are placed in a refrigerator for a day. The finished snack is taken out of the water and transferred to a plastic food container.

General storage rules

There are several preservation rules you should familiarize yourself with before canning:

• ready-to-eat cucumber snacks should be stored in a cellar, refrigerator or other cool place;
• so that during storage the cucumbers are not covered with mold, they are pre-sprinkled with mustard powder;
• before long-term storage, it is necessary to remove the vegetables from the brine.

How to extend the shelf life

Many housewives are interested in how to extend the shelf life of salted vegetables. To do this, you can do the following:

• place the cooked cucumbers in a cold room;
• pour lightly salted vegetables with cold water;
• before salting, do not cut off the ends of the fruits so that they do not deteriorate longer;
• remove the vegetables from the jar not by hand, but with a fork.

Common Mistakes

People who have never salted cucumbers make the following common mistakes:

• the use of stale cucumbers which spoil quickly;
• the use of iodized salt, which harms the preservation of salt;
• the salting of cut cucumbers, which are not stored for very long.

Conclusion

Housewives who are going to make winter preparations are interested in the peculiarities of storing salted cucumbers. Therefore, it is recommended to determine in advance the optimal conditions for their safety, as well as the methods of salting vegetable products.