Is it possible to pickle cucumbers if they are bitter and how to do it

So popular in Russian summer cottages, due to dry weather and infrequent watering, can turn out to be bitter in taste. Do not despair and throw away the harvest. There are ways and secrets pickles, which will allow you to make excellent blanks even from bitter fruits.

Is it possible to pickle cucumbers if they are bitter

Yes, you can - bitter cucumbers quite suitable for pickling. The reason for the bitterness is the content of cucurbitacin. The compound is destroyed by heat treatment, when the fruit is covered with hot marinade, followed by sterilization.

reference... Despite the unpleasant taste, bitter cucumbers good for the body. Cucurbitacin has anti-inflammatory properties, prevents the appearance of tumors, and normalizes blood sugar.

Will the taste of the blanks differ

The taste of such blanks is the same as that of cucumbers without bitterness. In addition, when pickling, spices, herbs and other additives are used that make them tastier.

Preparing bitter fruits for pickling

For pickling, pick straight, even fruits without damage, 5-12 cm long. Color - dark green, without yellow spots. The vegetables are thoroughly washed, the top is cut off, which is attached to the stem, and soaked in cold water for 12 hours. The water is changed periodically.

Important! Soaking will help not only get rid of the bitterness, but also make the fruits crispy and firm.

How to remove bitterness

There are several ways to remove bitterness from cucumbers.

Rubbing

Cut off the tail of the cucumber and quickly rub the cut area with it until a white foam appears. Do this until there is less foam. Then the fruits are washed thoroughly.

Salt

Chopped cucumbers are sprinkled or rubbed with salt, kept for 30 minutes. Then they are washed and left to dry.

Fill

The first two methods are suitable if cucumbers are needed in small quantities, for example, for a salad. But if there are more than a kilogram of cucumbers, then it is better to use the pouring method, which is used mainly before canning.

Pour boiling water over the cucumbers and let cool naturally. Or soak in an aqueous solution of salt for 6 hours, after cutting off the ends on both sides. The latter method is more effective than the usual 12-hour soak.

Bitter cucumber pickling recipes

The recipes below are great for pickling cucumbers with bitterness.

Classic pickled cucumbers

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of fresh cucumbers;
• small head of red onion;
• two cloves of garlic;
• two leaves of horseradish and one root;
• five black currant leaves;
• 10 black peppercorns;
• five dill umbrellas;
• Bay leaf;
• 3 tbsp. l. salt;
• 2 tbsp. l. Sahara;
• 100 ml vinegar 9%.

Preparation:

1. Cucumbers are prepared for pickling using the methods described above.
2. Pepper is cleaned of seeds and cut into 2-3 parts, garlic and horseradish root in rings, onions - in half rings.
3. Currant and horseradish leaves are spread at the bottom of the cans, dill umbrellas are added. Enough 10% of the spices from the jar capacity.
4. Cucumbers are placed in jars and covered with onions, garlic, bell peppers and horseradish root. Pour boiling water over for 5 minutes.
5. Boiling water from cans is poured into the pan, add salt, sugar, pepper and vinegar and bring to a boil again.
6. The marinade is poured into jars, which are rolled up, turned over and left to cool.

Before canning, jars and lids are thoroughly washed with soda or mustard. Then the cans are sterilized over steam or in a microwave oven, the lids are boiled or simply left in boiling water for 5 minutes.

Pickled spicy gherkins

You will need:

• 10 Kg gherkins or small cucumbers;
• 0.5 kg of sugar;
• 1.5 liters of vinegar 9%;
• 0.5 kg of salt;
• one bunch of dill and tarragon;
• 1 tbsp. l. mustard seeds;
• 10 cloves of medium-sized garlic;
• 10 allspice peas;
• 1 tbsp. l. grated horseradish root;
• 8 liters of water.

Preparation:

1. The greens are finely chopped, the garlic is chopped with a knife or grater.
2. Vegetables and spices are laid out on the banks.
3. The water is brought to a boil, salt and sugar are added and boiled until dissolved.
4. Pour vinegar, let it boil again and remove from heat.
5. Cucumbers are poured with the resulting marinade.
6. Jars with closed lids are sterilized for 20 minutes and rolled up.

With tomato paste

The recipe requires the following products:

• 4-4.5 kg of cucumbers;
• 5 medium heads of garlic;
• by ½ st. water, vinegar and tomato paste;
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil;
• 5 tbsp. l. Sahara;
• 3 tbsp. l. coarse salt;
• 1 tbsp. l. ground black pepper;
• 1 tsp paprika powder.

How to cook:

1. The fruits are cut into two or four parts, transferred to a saucepan, covered with spices and sugar, and paste and butter are added.
2. The mixture is simmered over low heat for half an hour.
3. Add water with vinegar and cook for another quarter of an hour.
4. Cucumbers from a saucepan are laid out in jars, poured with marinade in which they languished, sterilized and rolled up.

Hot cucumbers

For cooking, take:

• 1.5 kg of cucumbers;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• ½ hot pepper pod;
• 4 allspice peas;
• 3 bay leaves;
• 6 tbsp. l. vinegar 9%;
• 2 liters of water;
• 4 tbsp. l. salt;
• 6 tbsp. l. granulated sugar;
• ½ tsp. mustard seeds;
• currant leaves.

Pickling:

1. Garlic is crushed and placed in jars together with spices and fruits. Boiling water is poured over them, left for 20 minutes and poured into a saucepan.
2. Salt and sugar are added to the water and brought to a boil over medium heat.
3. The boiling brine is poured into jars, leaving a little space. Pour vinegar on top. Roll up.

Experienced housewives tips for cooking and storage

Each housewife has her own secret on how to get rid of the bitterness in cucumbers when salting. So, when canning, oak or cherry leaves are added to the marinade. They not only improve the taste of vegetables, but also make them strong and crispy.

Before rolling, add 50 g of vodka or 25 g of alcohol to each jar, acting on the principle of "knock out a wedge by a wedge". This additive disinfects and prevents clouding of the marinade and cans bursting. Instead of vodka, they also use Streptocid, ground into powder - 1-2 tablets for each can.

Experienced housewives advise to pickle cucumbers with carrots and beets, which will give them an interesting taste, with a handful of sweet or sour-sweet berries. The rind of the fruit is cut off, since cucurbitacin, which gives bitterness, accumulates there.

Reference. In a private house, workpieces are usually stored in a cellar. The apartment uses a pantry, a glazed loggia or balcony, as well as several shelves in an ordinary wardrobe. If the apartment goes out into a common closed corridor, a special cabinet is built there for storing blanks.

How to prevent bitterness when growing

To prevent the appearance of bitterness in cucumbers, it is important to observe the following growing rules:

1. Water in accordance with the weather, in the heat - abundantly. Keep the soil moist.
2. Humidify the air in the greenhouse.
3. Feed your cucumbers with potash nitrate and compound fertilizers. In this case, it is best to first test this or that fertilizer on one bush and observe its condition. And only after making sure of its effectiveness, apply on other plants.
4. When harvesting, make sure that the cucumber lashes do not twist.
5. Whenever possible, use hybrid and self-pollinated greenhouse varieties for growing, usually marked with F1. For example, Temp F1, Gerasim F1, Garland F1 and others.

Conclusion

Bitter cucumbers are just as healthy as sweet cucumbers, and still quite suitable for pickling. The preliminary preparation of fruits, proven recipes and housewives' advice will save you from the bitter taste. However, the best way to get rid of bitterness is proper plant care and abundant watering.