Salted zucchini for the winter

In the winter zucchini is a pleasure available to few. They are very expensive. But in the summer-autumn period, when there is a mass ripening of zucchini, their price is quite affordable. And the hostess, taking advantage of the moment, prepare them for the winter. Most often squash marinated. So they are easier to keep, because acetic acid does not allow harmful microorganisms to develop.

But those hostesses who salted zucchini, argue that this method of canning is the most reliable, because salted zucchini is perfectly preserved in an ordinary pantry. And if there is a cellar or a glacier, then squash harvested in this way remain tasty and crispy until the new harvest.

Salted zucchini: cooking subtleties

Zucchini ambassador is not much different from salting cucumbers, so for salting this vegetable, you can safely use the recipes of salted cucumbers.

Young zucchini with thin skin and lack of (or a small amount) of seeds are suitable for pickling. It is best to take zucchini with a length of no more than 15 cm and with a fruit diameter of 4-5 cm. It is advisable not to peel the skin when salting. The exception is slightly overgrown zucchini with already coarsened skin.
Zucchini salted whole or cut into slices no more than 1, 5-2 cm thick. If you need to remove seeds from zucchini, after cleaning, cut them with washers up to three centimeters wide, and then carefully cut out the middle with the seeds, leaving only elastic meat.
Squashes have a neutral taste. They easily absorb the aroma and flavor of the spices with which they were prepared. Therefore, when salting need to use those spicy plants that like all family members. This may be dill, celery, tarragon, garlic, horseradish, onions, parsley. So that later salted zucchini is not softened, they are salted with greens, possessing tannins: cherry leaves, black currant, oak, horseradish.
When salting zucchini there are no strict restrictions about salt. With its tab, you need to consider the method of storage of finished products. Usually 60 g of salt are put into 1 liter of water. But if salted zucchini is going to be stored in a warm room, then the amount of salt per 1 liter of water can be increased to 80 g (and even more).
It is most convenient to pickle zucchini in a large, wide pan or keg, because during the salting they must be under the yoke, that is, immersed in a pickle. And in the bank to do it is not very convenient.
Lactic fermentation is an obligatory process when salting not only tomatoes or cucumbers, but also zucchini. In the first week, the brine becomes whitish and rather cloudy. If zucchini first lose a lot in weight and volume, then after about 15-20 days of salting they begin to absorb the brine along with lactic acid, which makes them dense and elastic.
When the zucchini is completely salted, they are put in jars, filled with filtered brine and closed with plastic covers. Store in a cool place. Salted zucchini can be sealed. In this case, the brine must be boiled, pour zucchini with it and immediately roll up with sterile caps.

Salted zucchini: a classic recipe

Ingredients:

zucchini - 1 kg;
dill and parsley - a few twigs;
garlic - 1 head;
horseradish root - 5-10 g;
salt - 80 g;
bitter pepper - 1 pod;
water - 1 l.

Preparation Method

Prepare the pickle in advance. Dissolve the salt in hot water. When the brine has cooled and settled, filter it through linen fabric.
Wash young squash with thin skin. Cut the stalk. Squash cut into slices with a thickness of 1-1,5 cm.
Wash greens and peppers thoroughly. Remove horseradish root from the top of the skin and rinse under running water too. Divide the garlic into cloves, peel them and wash them. Then cut into slices.
Place 1/3 of greens, garlic and horseradish on the bottom of the pan. Do not cut the pepper, otherwise the zucchini will be very sharp. On the green lay circles zucchini. Cover them with the remaining spices. Fill with brine.
Cover the contents of the pan with a clean cotton cloth, place a wooden circle or a flat plate on it. Press down the socket so that the brine covers the circle completely.
Put the pan in a dark place with an air temperature of 15-20 ° for about a week. Be sure to ensure that the undercut circle is covered with brine, otherwise the squash will become moldy. If mold appears, change the cloth and wash the circle and weight.
Store the pan in a cold room or in the refrigerator. Or, transfer the zucchini into a clean jar, fill it with filtered brine, close with a plastic cap and put in the refrigerator.

Salted courgettes in cans

Ingredients:

young zucchini - 10 kg;
parsley and dill - 300 g;
cherry leaves - 2-3 leaves per jar;
horseradish root - 300 g;
water - 5 l;
salt - 350 g.

Preparation Method

Prepare the brine in advance by dissolving salt in hot water. Cool it down. When the brine settles, strain.
Wash small squash no larger than 10 cm. Cut the stalk. Put a toothpick in several places so that the fruits are better salted.
Wash the greens. Horseradish root clean, wash and cut into thin plates.
Prepare clean two-liter or three-liter jars.
Put half of the greenery on the bottom of the cans. Then jars tightly fill with zucchini. Cover them with the remaining greens.
Fill with brine. Cover with plastic caps and leave at room temperature for 12 days for lactic acid fermentation.
Cook some more brine. Banks fill the brine to the neck. Store in the refrigerator.

Note: if you want to close the jars tightly, pour the brine into the pan, bring to a boil. Zucchini shift to other banks - washed and sterilized. Fill with boiling brine. Immediately roll up hermetically. Turn the jars upside down, wrap a blanket. Leave to cool. Hermetically sealed jars can be stored at room temperature.