The classic option for preparing cucumbers for the winter is fermentation in oak barrels. The taste of such a snack cannot be compared with any other canned food. However, not everyone has the opportunity to keep such a large container in their apartment, but there are recipes for making canned cucumbers taste like barrel cucumbers.

Pickling cucumbers

To prepare cucumbers, it is better to take medium-sized and unripe fruits. Dishes can be made of enamel, wood or glass. As a rule, housewives, due to limited apartment space, use the latter option, but despite the fact that such utensils do not meet the requirements of the classic recipe, they can cook an equally tasty dish. How to make sour cucumbers at home:

  1. The brine for canning vegetables is prepared a day in advance, and it is better to use water with a high level of hardness.
  2. The amount of salt is selected taking into account the size of the cucumbers: for pickling small fruits, a smaller amount is needed than for large ones. The finished marinade must be filtered using gauze folded in half or clean burlap.
  3. Since canning cucumbers cannot be done without the formation of mold, the walls of the dishes are rubbed with garlic. Leaves of horseradish, cherries, black currants, and spices are placed at the bottom of the container.
  4. Cucumbers are laid vertically rather than horizontally: it is believed that then the vegetables are salted better and more evenly.
  5. If you decide to prepare canned fruits using the open method (without capping them with lids), you should periodically remove the white film from the surface of the brine. To prevent the formation of mold, it is better to store homemade preparations in a cold room and add a little mustard powder to the marinade.

Harvesting cucumbers for the winter using the open method

The traditional version of canned cucumbers does not involve rolling the pickles into jars. If you are preparing a snack in a glass container, it can be covered with nylon lids; the barrel is loosely covered with a wooden plate. To prepare sour cucumbers for the winter, you will need:

  • dill – 800 g;
  • medium, fresh cucumbers – 10 kg;
  • horseradish leaves – 100 g;
  • cherry leaves – 100 g;
  • horseradish root – 30 g;
  • Chile;
  • purified water – 10 l;
  • garlic – 200 g;
  • table salt – 750-850 g (if the fruits are large, add 100 g more salt).

How to prepare pickled cucumbers:

  1. Cucumbers are soaked in cold water for no longer than 6 hours. The remaining ingredients are washed, dried, and cleaned if necessary.
  2. Dill should be cut into 15-20 cm branches.
  3. The barrel is rinsed with a concentrated decoction of nut leaves and rubbed with crushed garlic (a couple of cloves is enough).
  4. The prepared greens and seasonings are divided into 2 parts, the first of which is placed at the bottom of the barrel, and the second is placed on top of the vegetables.
  5. The barrel should be filled with fruit very tightly so that the concentration of lactic acid produced during fermentation is high. This will ensure long-term preservation of the snack.
  6. Next, the vegetables are poured with cooled brine prepared from 10 liters of water and 750-850 g of salt.
  7. The top of the workpiece must be covered with cotton material, a wooden lid and pressed down with pressure. The top of the barrel should also be covered with material to prevent dust from getting inside the container.
  8. It is worth keeping the pickles in the room for several days, then transfer them to a cold room with a temperature of 10 degrees or lower.
  9. Make sure that the pickled cucumbers are constantly covered with brine during the cooking process. If the liquid level drops, it is worth preparing an additional portion at the rate of 20 g of salt and 10 g of citric acid per 1 liter of water.

If you wish, you can prepare the fermented appetizer using a saucepan. In this case, the cooking process will be almost the same. Instead of a wooden lid, you can use a regular plate, and a bag filled with water will serve as pressure. After about 2 weeks of pickling the cucumbers in a cool room, fermentation will end and, if desired, they can be distributed into jars. How to roll cucumbers? The fruits are laid out in sterilized containers, filled with brine and covered with nylon lids.

Recipe for winter cucumbers in jars

Pickled vegetables differ in taste from pickled ones in that the marinade in them is not acetic acid, but lactic acid, which is produced naturally during the fermentation process. Due to this natural component, the cucumber brine turns out to be cloudy, and the taste is bright and rich. To prepare pickled cucumbers in jars for the winter, you need the following ingredients:

  • chili – ½ piece;
  • dark green cucumbers, fresh – 2 kg;
  • cherry, currant leaves;
  • dill – 100 g;
  • bay leaves – 5-7 pcs.;
  • allspice – 10 pcs.;
  • garlic cloves – 5 pcs;
  • salt – 2 tbsp. l.

How to close cucumbers:

  1. Cucumbers soaked for 5-6 hours will crisp up, so this point should not be neglected.
  2. Spices are prepared: washed, cleaned. The jars are sterilized, and half of the prepared herbs and seasonings (except salt) are placed on their bottom.
  3. Cucumbers are compacted into jars so that the vegetables fill approximately 2/3 of the container volume. The remaining spices are placed on top.
  4. A brine is prepared from a liter of water and two tablespoons of salt, which is then poured over the fruits. Pickled cucumbers should be infused for 3 days.
  5. After the specified time, the brine is poured into a pan and boiled. In this case, there is no need to remove the cucumbers from the jars.
  6. The boiled brine is returned to the jars, they are loosely covered with nylon or tin lids and sterilized in a water bath. It takes 20-25 minutes to process a 3-liter container, 15 minutes is enough for a liter container.
  7. After sterilization, jars of pickled cucumbers are sealed, turned over and covered with a warm cloth. It is better to store the twist in a cool room.

When we lived in a dormitory during my student years, I was lucky to try many different pickled and canned cucumbers: all the girls brought their mother’s preparations, and then treated each other.

So, everything is learned by comparison, and I like cold pickles the most. The only drawback of these cucumbers is that they need to be stored in a cold basement or refrigerator, so they are not very suitable for city apartments.

Pickled cucumbers make the most delicious vinaigrette, they can be eaten simply as an appetizer with.

Even though we live in an apartment, I make 2-3 jars of these cucumbers and store them in the refrigerator. This summer, my daughter and I were visiting our grandmother and we all picked cucumbers together. The recipe for pickled cucumbers for the winter is very simple, you will see for yourself by reading the article to the end.

I offer you a recipe for pickled cucumbers, according to which my grandmother has been making them for decades. The recipe is proven, the cucumbers turn out crispy and not too salty, they can be stored in the cellar for up to 2 years.

To pickle cucumbers, you will need any jars and nylon (plastic) lids. I don’t recommend using metal screw caps, because they rust (both inside and outside...)

So, to pickle cucumbers we need the following:

  • cucumbers
  • Clean and dry 1 liter, 2 liter or 3 liter jars
  • Nylon covers
  • Horseradish leaves
  • Dill umbrellas
  • Black peppercorns
  • Peeled garlic
  • Chilli pepper
  • Dry mustard
  • Oak leaf (for crunchiness of cucumbers)

For the brine:

  • 1 liter of cold running water
  • 2 heaped tablespoons (60g).

Preparation:

If you can put less salt in it, then the lack of salt in pickled cucumbers can contribute to the development of bacteria. As a result, cucumbers may become soft and not tasty.

Soak the cucumbers in cold water for 3-5 hours (or better for 5-8, especially if these are store-bought cucumbers). This must be done so that the cucumbers get the missing water, otherwise they will get it from the brine and there may not be any left in the jar. Rinse the cucumbers under running water. The ends of the cucumbers do not need to be trimmed.

Wash jars and lids. (I do not sterilize or dry them in this recipe. But if you pour boiling water over the jars and lids, that will only be a plus).

Place the cucumbers, evenly layering with herbs.

Don't forget about garlic, chili pepper and dry mustard. For a 3-liter jar you need about 5-6 cloves of garlic, 1 chili pepper and 1 teaspoon of dry mustard.

Dissolve 2 heaped tablespoons of coarse salt in 1 liter of water in a separate container (about 1.5 liters and 3 tablespoons of salt are needed for a 3-liter jar).

Stir well and let sit. Usually coarse salt produces a sediment. I don't pour it into a jar. Fill the jars to the very top. Cover with regular plastic lids and place in a cool place.

Check periodically (every 3-5 days) and make sure that the cucumbers are covered with brine, otherwise, if this is not done, cucumbers without brine may become soft and mold will form.

Sometimes you have to add brine (until the foam is completely displaced from the jar and the edge of the neck, i.e. to the very edge of the jar, brine - based on 1 liter of water - 2 tablespoons of salt).

The cucumbers will ferment. This is fine. They may become cloudy and foam, but then the brine will lighten over time and the foam will go away.

Thrifty housewives try to preserve all available vegetables, fruits and berries for future use in the summer. Among all this diversity, cucumbers occupy perhaps the most important place. You can do without any exotic salad for the winter, but under no circumstances without cucumbers.
In stores all year round on the shelves we see the wonderful splendor of various cucumbers from large to the tiniest, but you won’t find pickled cucumbers in the store. Pickled cucumbers can only be bought at the market, where they are sold from barrels or buckets. This is perhaps the oldest recipe that we inherited from our parents, and they from theirs, and then the trace is lost in the mists of time.
In this recipe we will prepare pickled cucumbers for the winter, we will seal them in jars; cucumbers taste no different from barrel cucumbers, and any housewife can prepare them.
This recipe is rightfully considered traditional; it contains horseradish leaves, garlic and dill. Pickled cucumbers are prepared without preservatives; they feel great in the city pantry throughout the long and cold autumn-winter period.

Taste Info Cucumbers for the winter

Ingredients for a 3 liter jar:

  • cucumbers – 2 kg (approximately),
  • horseradish leaf – 1,
  • garlic cloves – 3,
  • bay leaf – 1,
  • currant leaf – 3-5,
  • cherry leaf – 3-4,
  • ripe dill - several umbrellas,
  • allspice – 3 peas,
  • peppercorns – 6 pcs.,
  • salt – 3 tbsp. spoons,
  • water – 1.2 liters (approximately).


How to prepare pickled cucumbers in jars

If the cucumbers were collected several days ago, then you need to return them to freshness and put them in cold water for several hours. Usually we do not know when cucumbers purchased at the market were harvested, so this procedure will not be superfluous. We will prepare the jars, wash them well and sterilize them. At the bottom of each jar we place pepper seeds, bay leaves, currant leaves, cherries, and allspice.


Let's start stacking the cucumbers, filling the jar as much as possible. Place large cucumbers downwards, small ones closer to the top. Alternate the vegetables with horseradish leaves, dill sprigs and chopped garlic cloves.


Let's prepare the brine in advance: for a three-liter jar we will need about 1.2 liters of water, maybe a little more depending on the filling density. We take salt at the rate of 3 tablespoons per three-liter jar. Boil the brine and cool.
Fill the jars with cold brine and leave for 2-3 days to ferment. The temperature of the room where the jars are placed should not exceed 25 degrees, otherwise the cucumbers may turn out soft. The water will gradually become cloudy, and foam will form on the surface of the jar. During this period, we recommend covering the jar with a layer of gauze, so that air gets in and dust does not.


After 3 days, salt the brine. As you can see, the fermentation process was successful, the water is cloudy.

Boil the brine and pour it into the jar for 15 minutes, straining through cheesecloth.


Then add salt and boil again. You will need to add a little water, as some will evaporate when boiling.
Fill the jar with hot brine and seal it.
Turn over and leave until cool.


The ideal winter snack is ready, we advise you to prepare delicious pickled cucumbers for the winter, even if you don’t have an oak barrel, you shouldn’t deny yourself the pleasure of trying homemade cucumbers, prepare them in jars.

This year I prepared pickled cucumbers without sterilization for the winter for the first time. It just so happened that until this moment my mother-in-law had supplied me with them, but last year she didn’t get them, and I decided to learn how to prepare such pickles myself.

Having pictured in my head a bunch of difficulties in implementing this plan, I was pleasantly surprised that a minimum of effort was required from me. Believe me, pickling cucumbers for the winter is very simple! This requires a minimum of ingredients, and they store well. True, I store it in the refrigerator, but both the cellar and the basement will be an ideal pantry for preparation. But I would not recommend storing such a snack in an apartment at room temperature - it may ferment again.

So, let’s prepare all the ingredients to create a dish according to the recipe and start cooking!

Wash the cucumbers in water and place in a deep container. Fill with cold water and leave for at least 3-4 hours, maximum overnight.

Then add water. Peel the garlic cloves, immediately rinse them in water and cut them into large pieces, adding them to the cucumbers.

Place the washed cherry, oak or horseradish leaves in a container. Both horseradish leaves and oak leaves “leave” the crunchiness of pickled vegetables. Add dill umbrellas if you have fresh ones available. If not, then we’ll add the dried ones - I prepared them over the summer. However, do not add fresh dill - it can acidify the water!

Add salt. Never use salt with iodine additives!

Fill everything with cold water straight from the tap.

To make it more convenient to ferment cucumbers, I cut off the neck of a 5 liter container, and it turned out to be a plastic tub. I poured the brine into it and laid out the cucumbers and other ingredients.

Then place a plate or saucer on top of all the ingredients and place a weight or other weight on it. I use a 1L or 0.5L jar filled with water and sealed with a lid. In this form, we will leave our workpiece for 4-5 days at room temperature. If it's hot, fermentation will happen faster - within 3 days. If it's cold, then later - within a week. The brine will become cloudy and turn whitish - this is normal! Milk foam may even appear.

After the specified period of time, put the fermented cucumbers in a bowl, pour the brine into a saucepan or pan, and throw away the rest.

Be sure to pour the brine through a strainer. After this, place it on the stove and bring to a boil to neutralize the yeast, which stops growing at temperatures above 40-45 C. Be sure to cool the brine for 3 hours.

We will transfer the cucumbers to a jar or other container in which we will store them.

Fill with cooled brine.

Let's seal the pickled cucumbers without sterilization for the winter with a plastic lid and place them in a cold place, in a cold place!

If desired, we will take out pickled cucumbers and cut them for the table.

Have a nice day!

This is a classic recipe for pickling cucumbers in a bucket.

Pickled cucumbers in a bucket

Required Products:

  • 8 kilograms of cucumbers;
  • 10 sprigs of ripened dill;
  • 50 grams of horseradish root;
  • 3 leaves of horseradish;
  • 10 cherry leaves;
  • 10 blackcurrant leaves;
  • 3 heads of garlic;
  • 12 tablespoons salt;
  • 6 liters of water.

Wash the cucumbers, cut off the stems, and place in a cup of water for five hours. It is advisable to use spring or purchased water. At this time, place the washed greens on a paper towel to remove excess water.

  1. Peel the garlic. We prepare a bucket, enameled or made of food-grade plastic.
  2. After five hours, rinse the cucumbers in clean water and place them in a container. On the bottom we put some of the greens and garlic, then a layer of cucumbers. Fill the bucket in this order, leaving a little space for the brine with the load. There must be greens on top of the cucumbers.
  3. The brine is very easy to prepare. Add salt to purified water, stir, pour in cucumbers. Salt water should completely cover the cucumbers. We place a plate on top and place any weight on it.
  4. We leave the bucket in a cool room for five days. During this time, the cucumbers will ferment.
  5. Cucumbers fermented in a bucket can be sealed in jars:
  6. Remove the cucumbers, rinse them, and place them in prepared jars.
  7. Pass the brine through a fine colander, discard the greens, bring to a boil, pour in the cucumbers.
  8. Cover with lids and let stand for 15 minutes.
  9. Pour the brine from the cucumbers into a saucepan and boil a second time.
  10. Fill the cucumbers and roll them up.
  11. We turn the jars over and wrap them.
  12. The next day we put it away for storage.

You can learn more about the recipe for pickling cucumbers in a bucket by watching the video recipe.

Here is a slightly unusual recipe for fermenting cucumbers. It is unusual in the use of bread in preparation.

Cucumbers fermented with bread


  • Cucumbers – 6 kilograms;
  • Salt – 300 grams;
  • Sugar – 250 grams;
  • Water – 5 liters;
  • Dill – 5 bushes;
  • Cherry leaves, grape leaves - 10 pcs.;
  • Peppercorns – 15 pcs.;
  • Mustard beans - 2 tablespoons;
  • Sourdough bread – 300 g.

Wash the cucumbers and cover with ice water for a while. Then put it in a bucket mixed with spices and herbs. Add pieces of bread wrapped in cheesecloth. Pour water with dissolved sugar and salt into cucumbers. Cover the top with several layers of gauze and leave in the room. As soon as the brine becomes cloudy, place the container in a cool place. Cucumbers are fermented for 1.5 weeks. During the fermentation process, you can add brine to completely immerse the cucumbers and remove the foam from the surface. If you haven’t had time to eat the cucumbers in 3-4 months, wash them, put them in another container, and fill them with a solution: 30 grams of salt per liter of water.

If you have large, slightly overripe cucumbers left, you can use them too. To do this, we will use the following recipe.

Cucumbers in their own juice


  • Large cucumbers – 5 kg;
  • Medium or small cucumbers – 6 kg;
  • Salt - a faceted glass with a slide;
  • Garlic – head;
  • Dill, horseradish leaves - to taste;
  • Peppercorns – 15 pcs.

Grind the overripe cucumbers on a coarse grater, add salt, stir, let sit for a while until the juice appears. Then divide the mixture into three parts.

Line the bottom of the bucket with one part of the grated cucumbers. Place chopped seasonings on them. For spices - half the pickled cucumbers, cucumber mass and the rest of the cucumbers. Put some greens and the rest of the gruel. Cover with a lid and take to the basement for fermentation. They will ferment in half a month.

Important! Fill all the space between the cucumbers with grated mass.

Another recipe for incomparable, delicious pickled cucumbers. But they can only be made with spring water!

Country cucumbers


  • Cucumbers – 5 kilograms;
  • Horseradish root with leaves - 200 grams;
  • Garlic – 1 head;
  • Hot pepper – 3 pods;
  • Oak, blackcurrant, cherry leaves;
  • A bunch of dill with seeds;
  • Black pepper and allspice peas - 10 pcs.;
  • Bay leaf - 3 pcs.

How to cook:

  1. Place spices, herbs, and grated horseradish root at the bottom of a bucket or other suitable container.
  2. Place cucumbers interspersed with leaves.
  3. To pour per liter of water - 2 heaped tablespoons of salt. Do not boil, dilute salt in spring water, pour over cucumbers.
  4. Leave to ferment for a week in the room.
  5. After clouding, the brine is drained, the cucumbers are washed, placed in a container, and the horseradish and hot pepper are left.
  6. Prepare a new filling based on two tablespoons of salt per liter of water.

The drenched cucumbers are stored in the cold. They store well and do not peroxidize.

Cucumbers fermented in a barrel


But this recipe is suitable only for owners of their houses with basements. I'll tell you how to ferment amazing cucumbers in a barrel for the winter table.

Products per barrel:

  • Medium-sized cucumbers – 50 kilograms;
  • Dill with umbrellas – 1.5 kilograms;
  • Horseradish leaves – 500 grams;
  • Horseradish root – 150 grams;
  • Blackcurrant leaves – 500 grams;
  • Garlic – 7 heads;
  • Hot red pepper – 5 pods;
  • Salt – 400 g per bucket of water.

It is better to pickle late varieties of cucumbers. They are soaked for no more than 6 hours, changing the water a couple of times, and washed. Fragrant herbs are washed, spices and seasonings are cleaned and cut.

Rub the inside of the barrel with garlic. Place half of the prepared seasonings on the bottom, then cucumbers, and the rest of the spices.

Advice! Place the cucumbers tightly to increase the concentration of lactic acid during fermentation, and for better storage of pickles.

Pour the brine into the barrel, cover the pickle with a rag, put a wooden circle and a weight. Cover the top with a cloth to protect from dust.

In the basement, fermentation ends after a month. All this time you need to monitor the level of brine covering the cucumbers. If necessary, the brine must be added (for 1 liter of water - 20 g of salt and 9 g of citric acid).

Advice! To prevent mold, the surface of the brine can be sprinkled with dry mustard.

Now you have several recipes in your piggy bank on how to deliciously prepare pickled cucumbers for the winter in a bucket and in a barrel. If you can’t prepare everything, take at least one piece of advice to note.