How to cold pickle cucumbers in a barrel for the winter - a simple recipe for tasty and crispy pickles.

How to prepare a barrel for salting.

We begin to prepare cucumbers pickled in a barrel by carefully preparing the container. This should be done 2-3 weeks before the mass harvest of vegetables.

Fill the barrels to the brim with regular water and let them stand for 14-20 days.

Then, drain this water, wash the barrels with a hot soda solution and rinse again with cold water.

Wipe dry and cover with a cloth until the container is filled with cucumbers.

Just before laying them, pour boiling water over the prepared barrel.

How to pickle cucumbers for the winter in a cold way.

On the day of pickling, collect cucumbers from the garden, rinse them thoroughly and plunge into boiling water for 2-3 minutes.

Quickly remove from boiling water and plunge, now, into cold water. This simple manipulation will allow the cucumbers to retain their natural green color.

In a barrel designed for 50 kg of cucumbers, you need to put the following spices: dill umbrellas - 2 kg, horseradish root and greens - 250 g, peeled garlic cloves - 200 g, fresh hot pepper - 50 g, parsley and celery - 250 g, green leaves of cherry and black currant. There should be a total of 500 g of spices. These spices must be washed, dried and placed into layers of cucumbers when filling the barrels.

Pour a cold salt solution into barrels filled with cucumbers and spices and leave the container in a room at room temperature.

The brine needs to be prepared from 9 kg of salt and 90 liters of water - for large cucumbers, from 8 kg of salt and 90 liters of water - for medium cucumbers, from 7 kg of salt and 90 liters of water - for small cucumbers. Therefore, when placing cucumbers in a barrel, you need to choose the same size - this way they will be salted evenly.

The barrel with cucumbers filled with brine must be kept warm for 2-3 days so that active fermentation begins in it. To prevent the cucumbers along with the brine from rising to the edge of the barrel during fermentation, you need to put a cotton napkin on them, a wooden circle on it, and a pressure from a cobblestone washed with boiling water or a large pan of water on it.

When the time comes and foam begins to form on the surface of the brine, lower the barrels into the basement and, if the brine spills, fill the barrel with new one to the top.

Based on the principle of pickling cucumbers in a barrel, they can also be prepared in large jars or bottles. Before salting, glass bottles must be washed with soda and scalded with boiling water or held over steam for 20 minutes.

You can taste delicious crispy cucumbers, pickled in a barrel or in a jar, within a month.If you are careful when pickling and thoroughly wash the containers and vegetables and store them at a low temperature, then pickled cucumbers will last even until spring.

See also video: Pickling cucumbers in a barrel or tub