Cucumbers are a very popular vegetable that is eaten fresh, canned, salted and pickled. In the summer, housewives often cook light-salted cucumbers. We will tell about how many and where it is better to store them in the article.

Fundamental rules

Salted cucumbers are so called because they use less salt than conventional salting. They also have a shorter shelf life.

Important! Whatever methods are used to extend the preservation time, the cucumbers will either pull the salt and are not salted, but salty, or will begin to ferment and will be pickled.

But for several days, and possibly more, they can still survive if:

• put them in a cool place. It can be a cellar or a refrigerator. Heat accelerates the processes of salting and pickling, and lowering the temperature suspends these processes;
• to stop further salting out and fermentation, you can remove the fruits from the brine and place them in a plastic bag, tightly packed. This option will make it possible to enjoy a little longer salted cucumbers;
• but the best option is to cook in small portions so that the pickles are eaten in a few days. And then, at the request of preparing a new batch, especially since in the summer there are enough cucumbers and there is no need for their long-term storage.

Did you know? The inhabitants of the Pacific islands wrapped the fruits of cucumbers in banana leaves and buried them in the ground.

How much can be stored at home

How long the pickles will be stored depends on the method of preparation and the conditions of the finished product:

• a product that has not undergone heat treatment can be stored at a temperature below + 10 ° C for about 4-6 days (but it will become salty and acidic);
• temperature 0 ... + 3 ° C and humidity of about 80% prolong storage up to 10 days;
• in a hermetically sealed container at a temperature of about 0 ° C, the fermentation processes will stop and the shelf life will increase to about 14 days. But the salt will pull the vegetables a little;
• in a plastic bag without brine, at a temperature of -1 ... + 1 ° C, also about 6-8 days, you can save light-salted cucumbers (but without liquid they will become slightly wrinkled).

Where is the best place to store

The higher the temperature, the faster the processes of salting and fermentation pass, which means that the product will quickly become salty and acidic. To prevent this from happening so quickly, salted cucumbers after salting should be stored in the refrigerator. Access of oxygen accelerates fermentation, as well as putrefactive processes. In sealed packaging, fermentation continues, although not so intensively, and putrefactive processes are stopped without oxygen. For this reason, sealed packaging (in a tight bag) will extend the shelf life.

Did you know? Nowadays, the original way — storage in cabbage heads. To do this, the ovary of a cucumber is placed between the leaves of an unformed cabbage. After ripening, the cabbage is cut and stored in the basement with fresh cucumber.

Can salted cucumbers be stored without brine?

Salted product can not only be stored without brine, but it can also be prepared without liquid. To do this, instead of a glass container, a dense plastic bag is used, in which cucumbers are placed. But before pickling all the fruits need to cut off the tips so that they let the juice. All spices to taste and salt are added to the package (1 tbsp. Per 1 kg of cucumbers). The bag is tightly tied and left for 4-5 hours at room temperature (+20 ... + 22 ° C). Salted product is ready. The remaining cucumbers are tightly packed and put away in the refrigerator. To speed up salting, vegetables can be cut into pieces, but in this form they will be suitable for use for about a day.

Additional tips

To slightly extend the storage time of light-salted cucumbers, you can use some tips:

• small fruits salted out faster, so choosing medium-sized vegetables, not only the time of salting is prolonged, but also storage;
• cutting the ends of the fruit will speed up salting, but will reduce the storage time of the finished product;
• pouring with hot brine speeds up salting, but reduces storage. Therefore, it is better to use cold fill;
• some culinary experts argue that adding peppercorns to black pepper slightly prolongs the storage of salted cucumbers.

Important! A 2% saline solution does not affect lactic acid fermentation, but suspends putrefactive processes (butyric acid fermentation), and a 5-6% salt solution neutralizes rotting and slightly inhibits lactic acid fermentation.

Based on the foregoing, it is clear that salted cucumbers after salting can be stored for some time, using various tricks and tricks. But nevertheless, it is better to correctly calculate and cook less in order to eat a fresh product, and not to cunning with its further storage.