Hot pepper for the winter in Armenian style tsitsak - a dish for real men

First, you need to choose the right pepper. These are long peppers, green or slightly yellowish in color. They are quite long and can reach 15 cm in length. The skin of the pepper is soft, tender and quite thin.

Although the tsitsak pepper is quite hot, a lot of it is prepared. It goes well with sauerkraut, and it can be added to meat dishes during cooking to add spiciness.

For 5 kg of tsitsak pepper you will need:

• 5 l. water;
• 200 g salt;
• a handful of peeled garlic;
• greens of cilantro, dill, parsley.

Inspect the pepper; it should be free of signs of rot and mold. Place it in the sun, in a ventilated area for several days. The tsitsak should wilt slightly.

When the skin of the pepper visibly wrinkles, rinse it with cool water. Using a toothpick, make several punctures in the stem area. It is necessary. If there are no punctures, the pepper will swell in the brine and spoil. Place the tsitsak in a deep container, mixed with crushed garlic and herbs.

Dissolve the salt in cold water and pour the brine over the peppers until the water completely covers the peppers.

Place an inverted plate on top and apply pressure.Now you need to wait until the pepper ferments, but this happens in different ways, depending on many factors. Focus on the color of the peppers; they should turn yellow. In terms of time, primary fermentation occurs from three to ten days.

At this point, the active fermentation process is completed, but in order for the tsitsak to acquire its traditionally spicy fermented taste, the pepper needs to stand for at least a month.

Drain off all the brine. Place the peppers in a colander and squeeze a little. Prepare clean jars for long-term storage of tsitsak pepper.

Place the peppers in the jars fairly tightly. If brine appears again during installation, it is better to drain it.

Prepare a fresh brine, with the same proportions of water and salt, but this time, the brine should be boiled.

Cool the brine to room temperature and pour it over the pepper. Close the jars with plastic lids and leave the tsitsak to mature in a cool place. After 30 days, real tsitsak pepper will be ready.

Watch the video on how to prepare a wonderful Armenian appetizer from tsitsak pepper: