Preserving cucumbers: Pickle & store correctly

Cucumbers can be grown very productively in the garden. If you can't keep up with the consumption, there are various methods of storage.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) Planting in your own garden is not difficult and you can easily take care of it through your own household for the summer. So that the green vegetables don't go bad prematurely, there are various tips and tricks for storing cucumbers. We'll introduce a few methods from pickling to canning and freezing.

Store cucumbers

Anyone who uses cucumbers more often in the kitchen knows that cucumbers don't last long there. This process is due to the high temperatures in the house or apartment - sufficient cooling is therefore very important! The ideal temperature for storing cucumbers is 10 to 13 ° C. The basement, for example, is suitable as a storage location. The thermometer should not fall below the recommended temperature, because too much coolness also damages the fruit. Cucumbers should therefore only be kept in the refrigerator for a short time. If these stay there too long, they quickly become muddy and blotchy.

You should make absolutely sure that cucumbers are not stored together with certain fruits and vegetables. These include apples, bananas and tomatoes, for example. The reason for this is what is known as ethylene, which is given off by the fruits. It is a ripening gas that causes cucumbers to overripe more quickly.

Pickling cucumbers or boiling them down - what's the difference?

If cucumbers are to be preserved for a longer period of time, a cool storage in the cellar is not enough. In this case, we recommend pickling or boiling cucumbers. In addition to cucumbers, the small pickled cucumbers are particularly suitable. But what is the difference between soaking and preserving? We present both options:

Pickle cucumbers

Pickling is an easy way to preserve cucumbers. To do this, a cucumber is chopped up and placed in a mason jar along with water, vinegar, garlic, onions, dill, bay leaves and mustard seeds. There are no limits to the variety of spices. In principle, however, the ingredients last longer if the vegetables and spices are put into the jar first. Then the hot water, boiled with a little salt, is poured into the preserving jars and the lid is closed. A cool and dark place, such as the cellar, is suitable as a storage location. In the cooked version, the cucumbers can be stored for months.

Reduce the cucumber

If you plan very long-term, it is worth boiling cucumbers. Canning is the same method. The main difference to inserting is that the contents of the jar are cooked when closed and therefore have a longer shelf life. This is how it works:

1. In the first step, the cucumbers are cut into bite-sized pieces and the ends cut off, because bitter substances could collect there. The cucumbers are soaked in salt overnight so that the water is removed from them.
2. To canning cucumbers, you need undamaged canning jars, which are first boiled in hot water for a few minutes together with the rubber seal. This kills all germs that could affect the storage time of the cucumbers.
3. The cucumbers are removed from the brine, rinsed briefly and poured into the sterile jars.
4. Water, vinegar, salt, sugar and any spices are now boiled in the pot for a few minutes, then poured into the preserving jars with the cucumbers and tightly closed with a lid.
5. To actually reduce the cucumber, the jars are placed in a water bath in the oven. A saucepan or pan that is filled a few centimeters high with water is suitable for this. The glasses are then left for approx. cooked for half an hour at 90 ° C.

With this method, cucumbers can easily be stored for a year. The basement is recommended as a place for preserving jars, so that they can stand cool and protected from light.

Freeze cucumbers

If you can't keep up with the food while picking cucumbers, you quickly ask yourself the question: Can you also freeze cucumbers? Even if the possibility sounds tempting, we strongly advise against it! Since cucumbers are mostly made up of water, the cells of the fruit will burst when frozen. This way the cucumber will quickly become mushy when thawing. Soaking or canning are much better methods for longer storage.

This article provides plenty of other helpful tips about growing, harvesting, and using Cucumbers from your own garden.