Content
The green skin of the cucumber owes its color to chlorophyll. It is unstable, easily destroyed when exposed to high temperatures and acid. Cucumbers usually turn olive green during canning. This does not affect the taste, but at the festive table you really want everything to be perfect. Emerald cucumbers for the winter got their name for a reason. They are delicious, crispy and as green as summer.
Emerald cucumbers do not change color when pickled
Features of the preparation of Emerald Cucumbers
Each housewife has her own secret on how to keep the cucumbers green when pickling. Not all of them are equally effective, and in order for the color of the fruit to remain emerald, it is better to combine 2-3 methods:
- The cucumbers are scalded and then immediately immersed in ice water. This will stop the thermal processes. The faster the fruit cools, the better the color will remain. It is recommended to add ice cubes to the water.
- A decoction of oak bark is prepared. Cool it completely. Cucumbers are immersed in the broth. Leave for half an hour.
- Rinse the jars with alcohol or vodka before laying the cucumbers.
- Add ethanol to brine.
- Alum retains color effectively. But you cannot add a lot of them, and with a small volume of brine, it is difficult to comply with the dosage. For 10 liters of water, 0.5 tsp is required. alum.
Selection and preparation of ingredients
The correct choice of fruits is of great importance for maintaining the color of cucumbers. Old ones that have begun to turn yellow or are simply overgrown with large seeds will no longer become emerald.
You should choose fruits of late varieties, medium size. You cannot take smooth cucumbers, they will be soft, tasteless, and no tricks can keep their color.
For pickling, varieties with bumpy skin and black pimples are suitable. The shirt doesn't matter. Just German, when the pimples are small, located so densely that they almost merge, it is considered ideal for canning. And Russian, with rare large tubercles, is for cold salting.
Recipe for cooking Emerald cucumbers for the winter with vodka
The proven recipe for pickling Emerald cucumbers not only retains the color of the fruit, but also turns out to be very tasty. The number of products is designed for one three-liter jar or 3 with a capacity of 1 liter.
Ingredients:
- cucumbers - 2 kg;
- black peppercorns - 10 pcs.;
- garlic - 2 teeth;
- black currant leaf - 3-5 pcs.;
- dill - 1 whole stem without root;
- horseradish leaf - 2 pcs.
For the marinade:
- water - 1.5 l;
- sugar - 3 tbsp. l .;
- salt - 3 tbsp. l .;
- citric acid - 2 tsp. without a slide (10 g);
- vodka - 50 ml.
Preparation:
- Sterilize the jar and lid in any convenient way.
- Wash the cucumbers. Pour boiling water over, immediately immerse in ice water. Soak in oak bark broth for 20 minutes.
3
- Place garlic and herbs at the bottom of the jar. Place the cucumbers vertically.
- Prepare brine from water, sugar, citric acid, salt. Pour cucumbers for 5 minutes.
Important! Unlike other recipes, here the pickle is made immediately. If you use just boiling water, without acid, the color of the fruit will change. - Drain the liquid, bring to a boil, fill the jar.
- Put pepper in a container. Heat the brine again and pour over the cucumbers. Add vodka to the jar. Roll up immediately. Turn over, wrap up.
Useful Tips
When cooking Emerald cucumbers, everything should be done quickly, it depends on this how well their color will remain.If you drain the brine and distract yourself, the fruits are unlikely to remain perfectly green.
Store the workpiece in a cool place protected from light. Otherwise, they, again, may lose their emerald color.
To make the fruits suffer less from boiling water, it is recommended to put some of the greens on top. This does not affect the taste, but it will help to preserve the color.
Vodka cannot be replaced even with the highest quality moonshine. But you can take rubbing alcohol and dilute it up to 40%.
Conclusion
When cooking Emerald cucumbers for the winter, they require careful attention to themselves, this is the only way to preserve the beautiful green color of the fruit. But on the table, they look great and turn out to be very tasty.
