Finnish Cucumbers for Winter

Under the intriguing name "Finnish Cucumbers" hide excellent pickled cucumbers, the distinctive feature of which is their crispy, firm flesh, ensured by an unusual ingredient for canning – mustard seeds.

Making Finnish cucumbers for winter is very simple – there’s no need to pour boiling brine over the jars several times and wait for a while for the cucumbers to heat up. An important factor is the possibility of using even overgrown cucumbers for this preparation.

Yield: 4 half-liter jars.

Preparation time: 2 hours 30 minutes.

Caloric value: 25 kcal per 100 grams of the dish.

Cuisine: Finnish.

Ingredients

• cucumbers – 1.5 kg,
• purified water – 1 l;
• mustard seeds – 2 tsp;
• bay leaf – 2 pcs;
• white sugar – 100 g;
• rock salt – 50 g;
• vinegar 9% – 100 ml.

Preparation

1. Prepare the ingredients for making Finnish cucumbers. You can also add a small piece of horseradish root to the jars – it will give the fruits a sharp tang. Each batch of cucumbers should be identical in size and ripeness. Use only rock salt, and it should not be iodized. Sterilize the jars and lids by any convenient method.

2. First, soak the cucumbers in cold water for a couple of hours, after which wash them.

3. Cut off the tails of the fruits, and then slice them into barrels 2-3 centimeters long.

4. In a pot with water, combine all the ingredients for the brine – salt, sugar, bay leaf, mustard seeds. Stir and place on the heat.

5. When the mixture boils, add the vinegar. Bring the brine back to a boil.

6. At this moment, add the cucumbers to the boiling solution, do not turn off the heat.

7. Boil the green barrels until they change color to olive green (this will take about 4-5 minutes).

8. Distribute the cucumbers among the jars and pour in the brine to the top.

9. Tightly seal the lids, then turn the jars upside down and wrap them in a blanket. In this thermal bath, the jars should remain until completely cool. Finnish cucumbers for winter are ready.

The sealed cucumbers can be stored at room temperature in a dark place. The crispy and tangy pieces of such pickles will serve as a great addition to any dish, enhancing them with bright flavor sensations.

Cooking video