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Salting cabbage for the winter starts in late October, early November. For these purposes, various containers are used. Today more and more housewives prefer salt vegetable in jars or pans. But barrels were used more recently. The best option is oak containers.
Barrel sizes for salting cabbage can be selected based on the needs of the family. Salted vegetables in such a wooden container turn out to be much more appetizing. In addition, all useful properties are fully preserved in them. We will try to tell our readers about the rules of salting in a barrel.
Salting secrets
Each family has their own recipes for salting cabbage in a barrel. Many of them have been preserved for many generations.
But no recipe will allow you to get delicious cabbage if you do not know some secrets:
- For salting, medium- and late-ripening varieties are used. Early cabbage is not suitable for this purpose, as it turns out to be soft.
- Crispy cabbage requires the use of not iodized, but best of all rock salt. Iodine softens vegetables and makes products unusable.
- You can salt cabbage in your own juice or in brine. It also has its own flavor. For brine seasoning consumption - 30 grams per liter of water. Dry salting - 60 grams of salt for each kilogram of white vegetables.
- Aromatic crispy cabbage can be seasoned with cloves, allspice and black peppercorns, caraway seeds.
- Pickles can be varied with additives such as apples and beets, cranberries, lingonberries and carrots. With carrots and beets, the cabbage will be orange or red. And apples and berries will add spice.
- Salting is best in an oak barrel. The finished product turns out to be much tastier and more aromatic.
- Salted vegetables must be kept at room temperature for at least two weeks, and then lowered into the cellar for storage for the winter.
Rules for stacking vegetables
Our grandmothers knew how to salt cabbage in a barrel. In addition to the fact that they specially prepared the container, they also laid the vegetables in a special way:
- In order to preserve the taste, a little rye flour was poured onto the bottom of the barrel and covered with cabbage leaves. They were also placed on top of the salting under the board.
- The vegetables were laid out in layers in a special order. First prepared cabbage, then salt was poured, and only then grated carrots. You can mix vegetables and put them in a barrel after grinding.
- Each layer was tamped with a fist or pestle until the juice appeared.
- The oak barrel was not filled to the top, leaving room for the brine to escape. The top was covered with cabbage leaves.
- The barrel with salted vegetables was necessarily covered with a linen cloth, and from time to time the contents of the barrel were pierced with a sharp twig.
These are important secrets of salting in a barrel for the winter, which will help you get a crispy and flavorful product rich in vitamins and nutrients.
Salting cabbage
And now about how to salt cabbage into a barrel. As we said, there are many interesting recipes. We will focus on a few.
Option one
According to the classic recipe, we need the following ingredients:
- tight forks - 10 kg;
- carrots - 300-400 grams;
- cranberries - 200 grams;
- coarse salt without additives - 250 grams.
As a rule, 1 heaped tablespoon of salt is taken per kilogram of cabbage.
According to the rules, one carrot is taken for medium forks.But orange pickled cabbage lovers can use a little more grated carrots.
We knead the vegetables in the barrel, put a plate on top and bend on top. As a rule, it is a cobblestone, washed and doused with boiling water. All other actions are performed traditionally.
Option two
Whole salted cabbages in a barrel - a great product. This cabbage can be cut for salads. And what delicious stuffed cabbage rolls are obtained!
Such salting is poured with brine: 400 grams of coarse non-iodized salt is taken for 10 liters of water.
How to cook
- For salting cabbage with forks, choose only cabbage with white leaves. Remove the top leaves from the heads of cabbage. We put the whole ones on the table, as they are useful for covering the bottom of the barrel, filling the voids between the heads of cabbage and covering the cabbage from above.
- Cut out stumps from the heads of cabbage and lay them in layers. Place carrots between the cabbage, cut into large pieces or halves (it all depends on the taste). You can add ripe tomatoes, Bulgarian sweet pepper. This will improve the taste of the finished product.
- Pour the laid vegetables with cold brine, cover with cabbage leaves. Top plate, canvas fabric and oppression.
The fabric is washed and boiled so that there is no mold on the cabbage. Every day vegetables are pierced to release air, foam is removed. Indoors, the barrel should stand for about 8-10 days: the heads of cabbage will be salted during this time.
Barrel is stored at a temperature not lower than zero degrees in the cellar. Freeze vegetables not desirable as they lose whiteness and crispness after thawing.
You can believe that salted cabbage tastes better in a barrel than in a jar or saucepan, thanks to the inimitable flavor of the container.
Salting cabbage in a cedar barrel:
In conclusion about the preparation of the barrel
We told you how to pickle cabbage in a barrel. But the most important thing is the preparation of the container, they missed it. The best option for pickling is an oak barrel. Although beech, linden, birch and aspen containers are also nothing. Barrels come in different sizes from 15 to 150 liters.
Before salting, the barrels are washed and soaked for two weeks to close the cracks. The water is constantly being changed. This water treatment removes tannins and odors from the tree.
After that, the container for salted cabbage is filled with boiling water and soda. After 10 minutes, the water is usually colored. It is poured out and washed several times with cold water until it is perfectly light. After that, the barrel is cleaned with a metal mesh, scalded with boiling water.
You can do otherwise: pour boiling water over the barrel and dip a hot stone into it. Then cover the container tightly. In the old days it was said that the barrel should be boiled before salting. You can steam a clean barrel with juniper (the best option) or dill sprigs with umbrellas. The barrel will acquire a pleasant aroma.
Well, that's all, enjoy the harvesting of cabbage for the winter.
