Representatives of the older generation of our compatriots almost certainly remember the Bulgarian-made cucumbers Globus. As soon as they appeared in stores, a queue lined up behind them. Crispy, fragrant, with a pleasant sweet-sour taste, pickled cucumbers, produced under this brand, were considered a delicacy, the banks with them saved for the holiday. Many housewives with different success tried to choose a recipe that allows them to prepare such canned foods at home or to get a ready-made recipe. Now it is not a secret. Moreover, Bulgarian-style cucumbers for the winter can be made in several versions, each of which is good in its own way.
Cooking Features
The secret of delicious pickled cucumbers in Bulgarian is not only in a special recipe, but also in some of the intricacies of the technological process. Even the choice of vegetables for canning matters.
- To prepare cucumbers for the winter in Bulgarian, you should choose solid, non-hollow fruits not larger than average in size, ideally from 8 to 12 cm in length.
- To keep the cucumbers crispy, they are soaked in cold water for 1, 5-2 hours before cooking. If cucumbers look lethargic, they should be soaked for a longer period, but keep in the refrigerator at this time so that they are not soured. We must understand that even prolonged soaking will not make flaccid cucumbers as crisp as fresh ones.
- Cucumbers are prepared in Bulgarian style with the obligatory addition of such ingredients as onions, bay leaves, allspice, fresh greens (preferably parsley). If you decide to add dill, it should also be greens, not umbrellas with seeds. The recipe can include mustard seeds, cloves, black peppercorns, carrots, sweet and bitter peppers, even garlic cloves, but horseradish leaves and fruit trees here will be superfluous.
- Many housewives are used to wrapping canned food after cooking, leaving them to cool in a steam bath. This manipulation is not superfluous: cooling down in this way, canned food undergo additional sterilization, which makes their shelf life longer. However, cucumbers can not do that. They can be covered with a towel for an hour or two, but after it must be removed, leaving the canned food to cool at room temperature. Otherwise, the cucumbers will lose their crispness.
- Cucumbers in Bulgarian can be closed in different ways. The traditional recipe involves sterilizing them directly in cans, so it is preferable to choose small containers (from 0, 75 liters to 1, 5 liters) and of the same size. If the option is chosen without sterilization, then canned food can be made in larger containers (2-3 l).
- To close cucumbers in Bulgarian, you can use metal lids such as twist-off or a special key that implies roll-in. It is important that they are new, intact, ensuring tightness. Before using the cap boil for 5 minutes, the banks are sterilized.
It is recommended to store cucumbers marinated in Bulgarian in a cool room, although practice shows that they stand well at room temperature.
A classic Bulgarian cucumber recipe
Composition (1 l):
- cucumbers - 0, 7 kg;
- onions - 25 g;
- fresh parsley - 2-3 sprigs;
- black pepper peas - 2 pcs .;
- allspice - 2 pcs .;
- carnation - 3 pcs .;
- bay leaf - 4 pcs .;
- salt - 15 g;
- sugar - 30 g;
- table vinegar (9 percent) - 50 ml;
- water (preferably softened) - 0.5 l.
Method of preparation:
- Wash cucumbers, soak for 2 hours in ice water, rinse again and leave in a colander to get water from them.
- Free from onions peel, cut into thin rings.
- Wash greens and spices, let them dry.
- Sterilize the jars, boil suitable lids.
- At the bottom of each jar, place the parsley sprigs and 2 bay leaves, cloves and pepper.
- Put cucumbers in jars. Try to put them as tightly as possible.
- Boil the water. A liter jar is usually enough for a 0.5 liter marinade, but experienced housewives prepare it with a margin: better it will remain than it is not enough.
- Put sugar and salt in water, add laurel leaves. Boil for 2 minutes. Pour in the vinegar and simmer another minute.
- Pour cucumbers with hot marinade.
- Cover the jars with the prepared lids, but do not tighten.
- At the bottom of a large pot, lay a towel, put jars of cucumbers on it.
- Pour water into the pan so that its level reaches the hangers of the cans.
- Put the pan on the fire and wait for the water to boil. From this point on, sterilize the jars for 10-30 minutes, depending on their volume (10 minutes per liter).
- Be careful not to burn yourself, remove the jars from the pan, roll them up. Turn the jars over, cover with a towel. After an hour, remove the towel and leave the food to cool at room temperature.
It is believed that cucumbers sold in Soviet times in banks with an inscription on the label “Globus” were made according to this recipe.
Cucumbers in Bulgarian with mustard
Composition (1 l):
- small cucumbers - 0, 7-0, 75 kg;
- chilli peppers - 1 pc .;
- onions - 30 g;
- Dill greens - 10 g;
- black pepper peas - 3 pcs .;
- allspice - 2 pcs .;
- mustard seeds - 5 g;
- bay leaf - 3 pcs .;
- water - 0, 6 l;
- table vinegar (9 percent) - 50 ml;
- sugar - 20 g;
- salt - 10 g.
Method of preparation:
- Wash cucumbers, soak them for 1-2 hours in cold water, rinse, put in a bowl.
- Scald cucumbers with boiling water. After 5 minutes, boiling water drain, pour cucumbers with cold water. Drain, laid out on a towel.
- Sterilize the jars, boil the lids.
- Wash spices, peppers, and dill. When they dry, put them on the bottom of the cans.
- Place several onion rings on the bottom of each can.
- Spread the cucumbers over the jars, stacking them as tightly as possible.
- Boil marinade from water, sugar, salt and vinegar by boiling it for 2-3 minutes.
- Pour cucumbers over the marinade and roll up the jars immediately.
- Turning over, cover with a towel. After 2 hours, remove the towel, then the cucumbers should cool down at room temperature.
Thanks to the “contrasting soul” and the presence of pepper and mustard in the composition, these canned foods are prepared without sterilization. They can be stored only in an unheated room. If you wish to store them at room temperature, then before rolling the jars with cucumbers must be sterilized in a water bath for at least 10 minutes.
Cucumbers in Bulgarian without sterilization
Composition (1 l):
- cucumbers - 0, 7 kg;
- onions - 50 g;
- hot peppers - ring, width 0, 5 cm;
- bay leaf - 2 pcs .;
- allspice peas - 2 pcs .;
- black pepper peas - 2 pcs .;
- table vinegar (9 percent) - 80 ml;
- sugar - 30 g;
- salt - 10 g;
- water - 0, 6 l.
Method of preparation:
- On sterilized jars, lay out clean and dry spices, onion rings and pepper rings.
- Fill the jars with cucumbers.
- Pour boiling water, wait 10 minutes.
- Drain, fill with new boiling water.
- Make sugar marinade from sugar, salt, vinegar and water. It should boil for at least 3 minutes.
- Drain water from cans, fill cucumbers with hot marinade.
- Seal the jars, roll them up and leave to cool.
Although cucumbers for this recipe are pickled without sterilization, they stand well even at room temperature.
Cucumbers in Bulgarian have a savory sweet-sour taste and a pleasant aroma. They have been loved by many of our compatriots since Soviet times, when they were considered scarcity. Today, housewives have the opportunity to close them at home and eat in the winter as often as they like, to treat their guests to them.
