18 Best Recipes for Winter Pickled Cucumbers with Citric Acid in Liter Jars

Not all women preserve peppers and eggplants for the winter, but every housewife has jars of these crisp, hot cucumbers on the refrigerator shelves or in the cellar. To prevent the preserves from spoiling and the lids from exploding, vinegar is added to the vegetables. Vinegar irritates the gastrointestinal tract but acts as a preservative. Cucumbers with citric acid are less pungent and can also be preserved for the winter in liter-sized jars. These cucumbers last for over a year and have a mild, pleasant flavor.

The specifics of preserving cucumbers with citric acid for the winter

To ensure a successful vegetable preserve, you need to choose the right primary and secondary ingredients. Only fresh cucumbers—either all-purpose or pickling—should be used for jarring. Citric acid can be used as a preservative instead of vinegar. It's easier to digest, but the cucumbers won't soften after processing, becoming firm and crunchy.

Selecting and preparing the main ingredients

Salad cucumbers should not be pickled or salted, as the solution does not penetrate the thick skin. Dark, bumpy fruits covered in spines are suitable for canning. Jars should be filled with smooth, oblong cucumbers without cracks or dents, up to 12 cm long. It is recommended to soak cucumbers purchased at the market in cool water for several hours. This will allow the vegetables to absorb moisture, become firm, and prevent them from forming air pockets after canning.

How to pickle cucumbers with citric acid at home

You can find many different recipes online and in cookbooks that make it easy to prepare delicious, crispy cucumbers.

A simple method for a 3-liter jar

To pickle cucumbers for the winter, use 1.5 teaspoons of citric acid as a preservative. For 2 kg of vegetables, you'll need:

• laurel - 2 pcs.;
• horseradish;
• dill.

Wash the cucumbers thoroughly, trim the ends, place them in a jar, add the herbs, and fill to the top with cold water, draining it after 15 minutes. Pour boiling water over the cucumbers again, and prepare a marinade using spices and citric acid.

Recipe without sterilization for a 2-liter jar

Before harvesting, soak the cucumbers in water for a couple of hours. Rinse the container with baking soda and add dill, bay leaf, peppercorns, and horseradish. You will also need:

• gherkins - 1.5 kg;
• salt - 40 g;
• sugar;
• citric acid - 5 g.

The cucumbers are cut into pieces, placed in a jar, filled with boiling water, and covered for 15 minutes. The liquid is removed to the pan, boiled for 30 seconds, and then returned to the cucumbers. Sugar and salt are added for the final time, and the marinade is prepared. This marinade is then poured into the jar with the cucumbers, citric acid is added, and the jar is sealed. The cucumbers are not very salty, but still tasty and crisp, making them perfect for salads.

A quick recipe for a 1-liter jar

Soak the gherkins in water. After 2 hours, remove them from the bowl, rinse, trim off the stems, and remove the spines. Place the garlic in sterilized containers and fill with the gherkins. For 1 liter of water, use:

• citric acid - 5 g;
• sugar - a spoon;
• salt - 50 grams;
• dill.

Pour boiling water into the jars, leave them covered for 15 minutes, then transfer the liquid to a saucepan. Stirring the spices and water, make a marinade and fill the jars with the vegetables, adding citric acid.

Pickled cucumbers in slices

Fresh, large cucumbers are not preserved whole, but rather chopped. To prevent them from discoloring, mustard seeds are used, which are sprinkled:

• with garlic cloves;
• juniper berries;
• a sprig of dill;
• allspice.

Currant or cherry leaves give cucumbers a pleasant aroma and make them crispy.

The cucumbers are sliced ​​and steeped in boiling water for 15 minutes. The brine is simmered in a saucepan and then filled into containers.

In Polish

To prevent canned vegetables from spoiling without a basement, sterilize them. Delicious cucumbers are made by canning them according to the following recipe. Add the following ingredients to the jar:

• pepper;
• dill, parsley;
• onion;
• sugar - 80 g;
• salt;
• vinegar - 0.5 cups;
• garlic cloves;
• carrot.

Add the vegetables to the spices and pour in boiling water. Sterilize the jar for 7-10 minutes, then wrap it in a blanket.

In Bulgarian

For winter preparations in a simple way The recipe calls for gherkins 8-10 cm long, leaves are not needed. Place in a liter jar;

• 6 peppercorns;
• onion rings;
• cloves - 4 pcs.;
• parsley - 1 sprig.

Remove the cucumbers from the water in which they've been soaking for 4-5 hours and place them in a jar. To prepare the marinade, add 30 g of salt, 80 g of sugar, 5 bay leaves, and pepper to a liter of boiling water. Simmer for 3 minutes, then strain. Fill the container with the cucumbers, add 1/2 cup of vinegar, and sterilize for 5 minutes. Seal the container hermetically.

With aspirin

Vegetables can be salted with aspirin. Gherkins are especially delicious and crispy. Garlic and herbs are placed in the bottom of the jar, then cucumbers and two aspirin tablets are placed on top. Add ½ cup of salt to 1.5 liters of water and bring to a boil. Fill the containers with the vegetables with the hot mixture, and seal immediately. For 2 kg of gherkins, you only need:

• aromatic leaves;
• garlic - 5 cloves;
• umbrella of dill.

You can preserve vegetables using either citric or acetylsalicylic acid as a preservative.

Salted cucumbers with aspirin are no worse than those with vinegar, and they are also crunchy.

With lemon

Soak the cucumbers in water for 5 hours, wash, remove the stems, and trim the ends. Sterilize the container and lids. Add the spices to the bottom, then the gherkins and half a lemon, sliced ​​into wedges. Fill the container with boiling water, drain it after 15 minutes, and replace it with the marinade. Mix a liter of water with 50 grams of sugar and 1.5 teaspoons of salt and simmer for a few minutes. For the spices, you'll need:

• peppercorns;
• mustard seeds - 5 g;
• garlic - 4 cloves;

Fill the container with cucumbers with marinade, add 1 teaspoon of citric acid and close.

With vodka

If not properly sterilized, vegetables preserved for the winter often begin to ferment, and such preserves should not be consumed, as they can easily cause food poisoning. Not all home cooks like using vinegar, as it irritates the mucous membranes, and the preserved cucumbers lose their crunch.

The fungi that cause fermentation are killed by the ethyl alcohol contained in alcoholic beverages.

The cucumbers are soaked in water for 24 hours, then placed in a sterilized 3-liter container with the spice leaves and garlic. Add 4 tablespoons of salt and fill with cooled boiling water. When a film forms on the surface, simmer the liquid for a couple of minutes, then add ¼ cup of vodka, the marinade, and 5 grams of acid.

With horseradish and oak bark

Housewives prepare delicious salted cucumbers, which have a long shelf life without alcohol or vinegar, using herbs, spices, and citric acid.

Place the following at the bottom of a liter jar:

• oak bark - 1 tsp;
• pepper - 2 pcs.;
• horseradish - a piece of rhizome.

Place the gherkins on top, fill the container three times with boiling water, and then add brine, which is prepared by adding 5 grams of sugar, a quarter teaspoon of citric acid, and 20 grams of salt to the water.

With cloves

To make the preserves aromatic and savory, add garlic cloves, black pepper, dill, and 4 or 5 cloves to the bottom of the jar used to preserve the cucumbers for the winter. Cover the cucumbers with water and prepare a marinade by mixing 60 g of sugar, 30 g of salt, and 2 g of citric acid in boiling water.

The jar is emptied of water, filled with solution and sterilized for up to 7 minutes, then sealed with tin lids.

With thyme

Very delicious pickled cucumbers You can make it using a simple recipe and minimal ingredients. In addition to the cucumbers, you'll need:

• horseradish root;
• bay and currant leaves;
• thyme.

Place all ingredients in a jar, add cool water twice, and then add marinade.

With carrots

Cucumbers are pickled and preserved with other vegetables to keep them crispy in winter, preserve their color, and acquire a sweet flavor:

1. The bottom of the jar is lined with currant leaves and dill, pepper and mustard seeds are poured in.
2. Place green cucumbers and chopped carrots on top.
3. Boil water for marinating, add spices and citric acid.

Vegetables are sterilized in brine for about 5 minutes. One carrot is enough for a kilogram of cucumbers.

With tarragon

Cucumbers will crisp up better when canned if you pour boiling water over them at least twice, and add tarragon and tarragon to the bottom of the jar, in addition to the bay leaf, and pour in brine with lemon juice.

With hot pepper

Pickled cucumbers acquire a piquant flavor when hot peppers are added to the list of ingredients in addition to spices, garlic, herbs, aromatic leaves, allspice, and sweet peas.

With currant berries

Some housewives like to experiment and get crispy cucumbers by combining them not only with carrots and spices, but also with red currants.

With mustard seeds

If you pour boiling water over gherkins, they lose their vibrant color. To preserve their color when pickling, sprinkle mustard seeds on the bottom of the jar.

With onions and garlic

You can preserve cucumbers for the winter by making a simple marinade with spices and without using a large number of ingredients, herbs, or hot peppers.

Add to the container with gherkins:

• onion with herbs;
• head of garlic;
• the aboveground part of horseradish.

The ingredients are steamed in hot water at least twice, the boiling water is drained, and the container with cucumbers is closed.

How long can the product be stored?

Pickles prepared without vinegar can be stored in a cellar or refrigerator for up to 8 months. Pickled vegetables stored at temperatures between 0 and 4°C (32°F and 4°F) will keep for 2 years, after which they soften.

Rules for storing cucumbers with citric acid

Unsterilized cucumbers should not be left indoors, regardless of the preservative used—ethyl alcohol, vodka, or citric acid. Store pickles and marinated cucumbers in a cellar with humidity no higher than 70% and a temperature around 0°C.