Recipes for preserving cucumbers in apple juice for the winter, choosing ingredients and shelf life

There are various recipes for preparing cucumbers in apple juice for the winter, using various additives. Each of them will help home cooks create delicious and unusual dishes that can be proudly served at any holiday table.

These vegetables are ideal; they have a high water content and don't burden the pancreas. Nutritionists recommend eating cucumbers regularly, as they quickly satisfy hunger while providing a negligible amount of calories. Green fruits flush out harmful toxins and provide minerals and vitamins.

The specifics of pickling cucumbers in apple juice

Preserving vegetables in juice is a great way to give your body an energy boost, especially during cold weather when nutrients are so essential.

The finished cucumbers are eaten immediately and added to salads. This crispy preparation has an unusual tartness and is so piquant that it will please even the most discerning palate.

To ensure crispness, vegetables need to be soaked in water for several hours. This will also help prevent the preserves from opening spontaneously in the future.

The marinade is made from the juice. It must be boiled and poured into the jar with the ingredients.

Selecting and preparing the main ingredients

Before you start cooking, the cucumbers are thoroughly cleaned under water (you can use a sponge), then rinsed thoroughly.

Additional green ingredients are very important for pickling—currant and cherry leaves, dill umbels. They should be fresh, without any suspicious spots or dry edges.

The ends of the cucumbers must be trimmed. After this, the fruits are placed in jars, preferably vertically. This arrangement looks beautiful and allows you to fit more vegetables in the jar.

Any variety of apples can be used for the marinade: both sweet and sour. The difference is that with the former, you don't need to add any sugar at all.

Pickling recipes

Using apple juice when pickling cucumbers will surprise many. But once you've tried this amazing snack, no one in your household will remain indifferent. Below are recipes you can experiment with to find the best pickling method for yourself.

Classic recipe

For a 3 liter container, you need to prepare the following ingredients:

• small cucumbers;
• 3 peppercorns;
• dill - 1 umbrella;
• cherry leaves - 2 pcs.;
• currant leaf - 1 pc.;
• cloves - 2 pcs.;
• garlic - 3 pcs.;
• 1 liter of juice;
• 1 tbsp. salt;
• 1 tbsp. sugar;
• 1 tbsp. vinegar.

Before pickling, the cucumbers are soaked in cool water for a couple of hours. After soaking, the cucumbers are washed and the ends trimmed.

Place the herbs and seasonings in a sterile jar. Next, pack the vegetables tightly. Fill the jar to the top with boiling water and let it steep for 10 minutes.

Salt and sugar are dissolved in apple juice. The brine is boiled, after which vinegar is added.

The liquid is poured out of the jars and replaced with hot marinade. The jars are rolled up, turned over, wrapped, and left to cool.

With mint

Ingredients:

• 1.2 kg of vegetables;
• 1 liter of apple juice;
• 1 tbsp. salt;
• dill;
• carnation;
• pepper - 3 peas;
• 1 currant leaf;
• 1 sprig of mint.

The fruits are scalded with boiling water, the ends are cut off on both sides.

Spices and mint are placed in a sterilized container, followed by cucumbers.

The juice is boiled on the stove, then salt is added. The liquid is poured into the jar with the cucumbers. The pickle is immediately sealed.

Without sterilization

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of cucumbers;
• 0.7 l of apple juice;
• 5 dill inflorescences;
• 1 tbsp. salt;
• 1 tbsp. sugar.

To keep vegetables fresh, place them in the sink, pour boiling water over them, and immediately turn on the cold water tap, which quickly cools the fruit.

The cucumbers are packed tightly into the jar, and dill is placed between them.

Bring the apple juice to a boil on the stovetop, then add sugar and salt. Continue simmering the marinade until the dry ingredients are completely dissolved.

The boiling brine is poured into a glass container and left to steep for about 5 minutes. The liquid is then poured back into the saucepan, brought to a boil again, and poured into the jar. This process is repeated one more time.

After this, the container is screwed on with a lid, turned over, wrapped in a towel and cooled.

In Hungarian

Ingredients for a 750 ml jar:

• cucumbers;
• 1 dill inflorescence;
• several cloves of garlic - 1-2;
• 5-8 peppercorns;
• mustard seeds;
• 1 teaspoon salt;
• 2 tsp sugar;
• 50 g vinegar;
• apple juice.

The spices, including sugar and salt, are placed in the jars. Next, the vinegar is poured in. Then, the cucumbers are placed in, preferably tightly packed. Then, the jars are filled with juice to the brim.

Place a towel on the bottom of the pan, and place the jars of vegetables on it. Immediately add water until it reaches the base of the neck of each jar, which is then covered with a lid.

Turn on the stove and boil the water for 5 minutes. Then seal the containers, turn them upside down, and let them cool.

With the addition of spices and vinegar

Ingredients:

• 2 kg cucumbers;
• 4 kg of apples to make 2 liters of juice;
• salt;
• sugar;
• spices;
• 2 tbsp. vinegar.

The fruits are soaked in water for a couple of hours. Then the stems are trimmed. Spices are placed at the bottom of the containers, and vegetables are arranged on top. Boiling water is then poured in for 10 minutes.

For the marinade, the apples are peeled, sliced, and juiced, then mixed with salt and sugar. The brine is brought to a boil, then vinegar is added.

The jars are filled with the prepared marinade, then immediately sealed with lids.

In Bulgarian

Ingredients:

• cucumbers;
• 3 pcs. garlic;
• onion - 1 pc.;
• 3 bay leaves;
• 5 peppercorns;
• 0.5 l of juice;
• 2 tsp salt;
• 4 tsp sugar;
• 4 tbsp. vinegar.

Peel and wash the onions and garlic, chop them, and place them in jars along with the spices. Add the vegetables next.

The juice is brought to a boil, poured into containers, covered with lids, wrapped in a towel, and left for fifteen minutes. The marinade is poured into the container, brought back to a boil, and then poured over the cucumbers. The process is repeated once more, this time adding salt and sugar. Once boiling, vinegar is added.

The hot liquid is finally poured into the jars, which are immediately sealed with lids.

Cucumbers in apple-cucumber juice

If vegetables have been sitting around for a while and are looking a little wilted, you can revive them and restore their juiciness with cucumber juice. This unusual recipe requires the following ingredients:

• 1 kg of cucumbers;
• 1 liter of cucumber juice;
• 1 liter of apple juice;
• 0.5 tbsp salt;
• 0.5 tbsp. sugar.

The washed fruit is boiled for about 3 minutes. Then, two types of juice are extracted. The resulting mixture is placed on the stove to boil. Then, it is poured over the cucumbers for 5 minutes.

The marinade is drained, salt and sugar are added, and the mixture is brought to a boil. The containers are filled with the liquid a second time. After a few minutes, the process is repeated for a third time.

The hot brine is poured into jars, which are immediately sealed with lids. The jars are then turned upside down and cooled for 24 hours.

How and how long canned food be stored?

When vegetables are pickled, a wonderful preservative called lactic acid accumulates. It is this acid, along with the salt, that is responsible for the preservation of cucumbers.

It is important to know that pickles can be stored at room temperature for no more than 2 months, after which they become soft and lose their flavor.

Therefore, for long-term storage (several years), it's best to choose a cool location where the temperature averages 1°C. Basements and cellars are ideal.