Salted cucumbers are a traditional winter snack prepared on their own. Previously, the salting of vegetables was carried out in large wooden barrels, which were stored in the cellar or basement all winter. Today, such a workpiece can be prepared in a small plastic tank. The article describes the best recipes for pickling cucumbers in a barrel, as well as the rules for preparing the capacity and storage of the workpiece.
Barrel selection and preparation
Usually salting is carried out in a large oak barrel, but you can salt the cucumbers in a plastic tank or tub. Therefore, you can decide at what capacity it is better to cook a snack, at your discretion.
Preparation of a wooden barrel should begin 2-3 weeks before pickling cucumbers.
To do this, you must:
- Eliminate cracks in the container through which brine can flow - pour water on it for several days. The tree will swell from the water and close all the cracks.
- Pour water out of the barrel and rinse it with concentrated soda solution.
- Fill the tank with boiling water. You can put hot cobblestone on the bottom so that the barrel is better steamed.
- Drain and let the steamed barrel dry. Then grate its inner walls with grated garlic.
Plastic containers can be prepared for pickling in a couple of days. To do this, they must be washed with soda and scalded 2-3 times with boiling water. If you want to pickle a small amount of cucumbers, you can do this in metal buckets made of stainless steel - the taste of the finished product will not deteriorate.Did you know? The longest cucumber in the world was grown in 2008 in the English city of Bath. Gardener Alf Cobb brought a 91.7 cm long vegetable to a horticultural exhibition!
Selection and preparation of ingredients
For pickling, choose medium-sized cucumbers so that they are evenly saturated with brine and spices. Before preparing the workpiece, it is recommended to rinse the vegetables well, sort them out and soak them for several hours in cold water.
This procedure will give the fruits elasticity so that after salting they are hard and crunchy. Greens should also be thoroughly washed under running water and remove excess moisture from it with a paper towel.
How to pickle cucumbers in a barrel for the winter: the best recipes
Traditionally, for pickling cucumbers in a wooden or plastic barrel, dill stalks, horseradish leaves, cherries and currants are used. For lovers of pungent taste, you can add garlic or a few pods of hot pepper.
Important! Do not reduce the indicated amount of salt for the preparation of brine, as in this case the workpiece may deteriorate.
During salting, you can experiment with taste by increasing or decreasing the amount of these spices and adding other ingredients. Consider several recipes for pickling cucumbers in a barrel for the winter.
Traditional recipe
1 barrel for 40-50 l 60 minutes
dill stalks with umbrellas
600 g
large horseradish leaves
150 g
black pepper peas
30 g
cherry leaves
100 g each
big horseradish root
2 pcs.
chili pepper pod
1 PC.
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- Wash and sort the cucumbers. Soak the vegetables in a large bowl of cold water for at least 5 hours.
- Peel the horseradish root and cut into small pieces. The head of garlic is divided into slices and peeled.
- Wash greens. Dill stalks cut into small pieces. Peppers to clear of seeds and cut into rings.
- Pour water into the pan and boil. Salt boiling water, mix well and remove the resulting brine from the stove. When the brine cools down - strain through a sieve.
- Grate the walls of the prepared barrel with garlic. Lay some herbs and spices at the bottom.
- Lay a layer of cucumbers on top, placing them vertically and as densely as possible to each other.
- Again, lay a layer of greens on the vegetables, and then another layer of cucumbers. Alternate layers in this way until the barrel is full.
- Fill the barrel with filtered brine and cover with a clean lid. Put oppression on top.
- Leave the barrel warm for 2-3 days for the fermentation of cucumbers. After that, move it to the basement or cellar.
Did you know? Wild cucumbers still grow in India, but their fruits are too small and have an unpleasant bitter taste.
Cold way
In this recipe, raw water is used to prepare the brine, which does not need to be boiled beforehand.
1 barrel for 40 liters 40-50 minutes
medium-sized fresh cucumbers
20 kg
long stems and inflorescences of dill
1,5 kg
large horseradish roots
3 pcs.
large heads of garlic
2 pcs.
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- Rinse cucumbers well, soak in ice water for 6 hours.
- Wash greens, peel garlic. Clear hot peppers from seeds and stalks, rinse and cut into rings.
- Peel the horseradish root and cut into slices.
- Rub the inner walls of the barrel with a crushed clove of garlic.
- At the bottom of the tub, lay a third of the greens, horseradish, garlic and hot pepper.
- Put fresh cucumbers in a dense layer on the greens, filling them with a barrel to the middle.
- Lay out another layer of greens on top, and then another layer of cucumbers. Sprinkle vegetables on top with remaining herbs and spices.
- Dissolve the salt in cold water and mix thoroughly.
- Pour the barrel with the ingredients laid in with cold brine and cover. Put oppression on top.
- Keep the container at a temperature of about + 20 ° C for 2-3 days. After the appearance of foam on the surface, remove the pickle into the cellar or cold basement.
Important! You can consume cucumbers salted in a barrel after about a month, when they are well saturated with salt.
With mustard
1 barrel for 20 liters55 minutes
umbrellas and stalks of dill
350 g
green leaves of cherry and currant
100 g each
large horseradish leaves
5 pieces.
big horseradish root
2 pcs.
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- Rinse and sort the cucumbers, soak for 6-7 hours in a bowl of ice water.
- Rinse greens under running water. Divide the garlic into teeth and peel, finely chop.
- Peel the horseradish root and cut into small rings.
- Lay some herbs and spices at the bottom of the barrel.
- Put half of the cucumbers tightly, cover them again with herbs, garlic and horseradish.
- Put the second half of the cucumbers on top and sprinkle abundantly with the remaining greens.
- For brine, boil water on a stove, add salt and mustard powder, packed in a cloth bag. Stir and cook the mixture over low heat for several minutes. Then remove the pan from the stove.
- Fill a barrel with cucumbers with hot brine so that all the ingredients are completely in the liquid.
- Cover the barrel with a layer of gauze folded 4-5 times and press down on the lid. Put oppression on the lid.
- Keep the barrel for 2-3 days at room temperature so that the cucumbers in the container begin to roam. Then move the tub to the cellar or basement.
Did you know? Cucumbers are used in cosmetology for the production of cosmetic masks that remove facial swelling.
With vinegar
This recipe is suitable for a cellar or a cool basement, where the workpiece can be stored all winter.
1 barrel for 20-25 l 40 minutes
dill stalks and umbrellas
30 pcs
cherry and currant leaves
40-50 pcs.
big horseradish leaves
8 pcs
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- Wash, sort and soak the cucumbers in a bowl of ice water for 10-12 hours.
- Boil the brine in advance. Boil water on a stove, add salt, wine vinegar and vodka. Stir the mixture well and simmer for several minutes. Then remove the brine from the stove and leave to cool at room temperature for 10-12 hours.
- Rinse the greens thoroughly and dry them slightly with a paper towel. Peel the garlic cloves.
- Lay a layer of herbs and spices in the prepared barrel, lay the cucumbers on top tightly.
- Alternate the layers in this way until the barrel is completely filled, with the top layer you should always lay greens.
- Pour a barrel of cucumbers with a cooled brine and transfer the container to a cool dark place.
Did you know? More than 60% of all cucumbers in the world are grown in China. Annually, the country harvests 40 million tons of these vegetables.
With vodka
1 barrel for 20 l 20-30 minutes
branches of cherries and currants with leaves
2-3 pcs.
small heads of garlic
6 pcs
red hot peppers in pods
3 pcs.
black pepper peas
2 tbsp. l
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- Rinse cucumbers first, soak in a deep bowl with ice water for 2-3 hours.
- Wash greens and dry slightly. Crush the head of garlic with a knife and disassemble into teeth, do not remove the husk.
- Scald twice with boiling water.
- At the bottom of the container lay a small part of dill, garlic, horseradish leaves, cherry branches and currants. Add a few bay leaves, a pod of hot pepper and pour 1-2 tbsp. dried basil.
- Put half the cucumbers on the greens. Shake the tank periodically so that the cucumbers fit snugly together.
- Put a second layer of herbs and spices on the vegetables, and then again a layer of cucumbers. Repeat this layer order 1 more time, periodically shaking the tank.
- Put the remaining greens and garlic on the last layer of cucumbers, pour 1 tbsp. l dried basil, hot pepper pod and add a handful of black pepper peas.
- Pour vodka into a container with ingredients.
- Dissolve the salt in water and fill the container with cucumbers with the resulting solution. Cover the tank with a lid.
- Put the container in a warm place for 2-3 days so that the cucumbers begin to roam. Then move the tank to the cellar or basement for storage.
Video recipe
Features of storage of blanks
So that salted cucumbers do not spoil in the tub all winter, you need to store them correctly. When the brine has stopped roaming, a wooden or plastic barrel with pickles is stored in a cool place.
For storage, a cellar or a dry basement in which the air temperature does not exceed + 5 ° C is well suited. In such conditions, cucumbers in a barrel can be stored for 4-6 months.Important! Pickled cucumbers are stored in a barrel in a room protected from sunlight.
Cucumbers pickled in a barrel have a pleasant piquant taste and unique aroma of summer herbs. Having chosen one of the above recipes for yourself, clearly follow the instructions, and you can easily prepare this snack yourself.
