Content
The presence of a variety of pickles is a characteristic feature of Russian cuisine. Since the 16th century, when salt ceased to be an imported luxury, vegetables were preserved by the method of salting. Pickles are snacks, but this does not mean at all that they are necessarily served with strong drinks. The main property of pickles is appetite stimulation.
Secret of success
Lightly salted cucumbers are perhaps the most common appetizer and belong to the most beloved Russian dishes. The difference between lightly salted cucumbers and other pickles is in the short-term exposure to salt.
Various spices are added to the brine for lightly salted cucumbers: dill, cherry or currant leaves, horseradish, pepper, celery and others. This allows you to vary the flavor of the regular dish. Lightly salted cucumbers can be different every time: fresh and spicy, with a garlic aroma or a spicy note of celery or bell pepper. For which salted cucumbers are loved.
Housewives love to cook lightly salted cucumbers, since the process does not require effort and time-consuming. Each has its own, time-tested and loved by the household, recipe. The versatility of lightly salted cucumbers is that they can be consumed as an independent dish, they can be served with main courses or used in salads or first courses.
The success of the dish depends on the choice of cucumbers. Of course do lightly salted cucumbers it is possible in winter, when only a greenhouse version of vegetables is available. But the most delicious and healthy, without a doubt, cucumbers, grown with their own hands on the backyard. The quality of which there is no doubt.
Dense, slack cucumbers are ideal for pickling, then you are guaranteed success. There are many ways to cook lightly salted cucumbers. Here you will be offered a recipe for salting using carbonated mineral water. Lightly salted cucumbers in mineral water are prepared very quickly, simply, with a minimum amount of effort. But the result will please you, the cucumbers are very crispy.
Recipe
For cooking, you need the following ingredients:
- fresh dense cucumbers - 1 kg;
- dill umbrellas for flavoring - 5-10 pieces, if there are no umbrellas, dill greens are also suitable;
- garlic - 1 large head, fresh is also better;
- salt - 2-3 tablespoons without a slide;
- secret ingredient - carbonated mineral water - 1 liter, the more carbonated, the better. You can take any water. From overseas San Pellegrino or Perrier to any local water.
Prepare some sort of salting container. This can be a glass jar with a lid, a plastic container, an enamel pot. But it is better if the container has a tight-fitting lid so that the gases do not evaporate. Start cooking.
- Place half of the pre-washed dill on the bottom.
- Peel and cut the garlic into slices. Place half of the chopped garlic on top of the dill.
- We put cucumbers on top, which must be pre-washed and allowed to drain. You can cut off the ends. If the cucumbers are not quite fresh or wilted, then make a cruciform incision from below, then the brine will better penetrate into the cucumber.
- Cover the cucumbers with the leftover dill and garlic.
- Open a bottle of highly carbonated mineral water. Dissolve the salt in it.To avoid losing gas bubbles while stirring, pour out about half a glass of water and dissolve the salt in it.
- Pour the prepared brine over the cucumbers. Close them with a lid and put them in the refrigerator for a day. If you endure, so as not to try mega crispy fragrant cucumbers before - an ideal addition to potatoes or kebabs.
Even in this simple recipe, variations are possible. You can leave the cucumbers at room temperature for a day, and only then put them in the refrigerator for 12 hours. Try it and decide for yourself which option you like best. Video recipe:
The benefits of lightly salted cucumbers
Everyone knows the fact that cucumbers are 90% water, in which ascorbic acid, iodine, potassium, magnesium and other trace elements are dissolved. In lightly salted cucumbers, all elements and vitamins are preserved, since there is no heat effect, the salting process was short and they contain a minimum amount of salt and no vinegar.
Lightly salted cucumbers can be eaten by people who, for health reasons, should not eat a lot of salt. For example, hypertensive patients. Pregnant women can eat lightly salted cucumbers on mineral water, in almost unlimited quantities, without fear of harming the unborn child, in addition, they help to cope with attacks of nausea and manifestations of toxicosis.
Lightly salted cucumbers are a dietary product, 100 g contains only 12 kcal, so they can be consumed while on a diet.
Composition
Lightly salted cucumbers have a very good composition:
- Dietary fiber that improves intestinal motility;
- Calcium;
- Sodium;
- Potassium;
- Iodine;
- Magnesium;
- Iron;
- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid);
- B vitamins;
- Vitamin A;
- Vitamin E.
Here is a far from complete list of useful vitamins and minerals contained in lightly salted cucumbers.
Conclusion
Try making cucumbers with mineral water. An element of creativity is also possible here, add other spices and get new flavors. The popularity of the recipe is precisely in its simplicity and always excellent result.
