Find out how to store pickles in an apartment: optimal conditions and shelf life

Where and how to store homemade preparations

You can store twists for the winter in a variety of places, the main thing is to comply with the conditions and create optimal temperature and humidity levels.

Cellar

If you have the opportunity to store workpieces in the cellar, you should not miss it, since this is the most optimal place. If all important indicators are properly organized, you can leave jars of snacks there for a long time.

For further safety, the workpieces need to be provided with good ventilation and the premises should be insulated to eliminate the possibility of sudden freezing. Also, regularly, for preventive purposes, treat walls and shelves with antifungal agents so that microorganisms do not penetrate inside jars with nylon lids.

Apartment

Storing canned cucumbers in an apartment is made easier by the presence of a balcony, loggia or pantry, since in a heated room it is difficult to arrange the jars so that the snack does not spoil.

Otherwise, you can get a miniature pantry in the kitchen, placing it under the windowsill. Any kitchen cabinet into which light will not penetrate will also work.

When choosing a place to mount it, you should give preference to those where there are no heating devices nearby.

If the apartment has high humidity, place the blanks not in the kitchen, but in the bedroom under the bed to protect the covers from corrosion.

Balcony

The presence of a balcony in the apartment simplifies the storage of preparations for the winter. Even if you have a small area, if properly equipped, it will be the perfect place to store snacks. To do this, you should get a closed shelving unit to prevent sunlight from entering, and a heating device to regulate the room temperature in winter.

What is needed for long-term conservation

To ensure that canned cucumbers do not spoil for a long time, you need to understand what is needed for their long-term storage.

Humidity and temperature indicators

It is recommended to decide in advance at what temperature canned cucumbers should be stored. Some people believe that pickles will last a long time at temperatures of 20-25 degrees, but this is far from true. In such conditions, canned vegetables quickly deteriorate, causing the jars to begin to explode.

To store canned vegetables, it is necessary to use cellars where the temperature is at the level of five degrees Celsius. In this case, air humidity should be 85-95 percent.

Room illumination

Some people believe that lighting has no effect on the shelf life of canned vegetables, but in fact this is not the case. Experienced housewives recommend making sure that the room with twists is not too light. It is recommended to protect canned vegetables from direct sunlight, as they negatively affect the shelf life and taste of the preparations. Therefore, the rooms where jars of cucumbers will be placed must have no windows.

What conditions are necessary for long-term storage?

As you know, any type of homemade food for the winter requires compliance with certain conditions for its further storage.

Temperature and humidity

The optimal humidity in the room where workpieces are kept for a long time should not exceed 75%. In apartment conditions, it is difficult to regulate the room temperature; you should also focus on the method of twisting. Products in sealed packaging can be stored at a temperature of no more than 20 degrees, but for pickled, pickled or pickled cucumbers it should vary from 0 to 4.

Sub-zero temperatures can lead to irreversible consequences in the form of cracks.

Illumination

The main rule for storing twists is minimum lighting. It is worth protecting the jars from direct sunlight, the impact of which can negatively affect the quality of the snack.

How to preserve pickles bought at the market

The market usually sells vegetables sealed in glass jars. They are kept at home, maintaining optimal temperature (-1...+4°C) and air humidity (80–90%). When purchasing, it is better to ask how long to store the workpiece and when it was made.

Attention! When buying goods from random sellers at the market, remember the risk of poisoning. There is no guarantee of obtaining reliable information regarding production time and quality of the product.

Depending on the type of container, products are stored as follows:

in plastic bags - no more than 24 hours at temperatures up to +17°C;
Transfer the vegetables from a plastic bucket into a glass container and fill them with boiled water, keep them in this state for 2 days.

It is better to eat cucumbers by weight without brine immediately or freeze them after removing excess moisture.

Methods and options for storing various preparations

There are a large number of options for storing cucumbers for the winter, most of them are presented below.

Pickles

Pickled cucumbers can be kept in the cellar for no more than 2 years, but in an apartment the period is reduced. The main thing is to thoroughly sterilize the jars, lids and seal the preparation hermetically for the winter.

Canned in a jar

This twist should be stored indoors for no more than 3 years, if all standards are followed. A cool, dry pantry is ideal for this.

Pickles

When using this method of storing cucumbers, monitor the temperature and humidity in the room so that the brine does not sour.

Important! To prevent pickles from spoiling quickly after opening, it is more convenient to roll them in liter jars .

Lightly salted

The workpiece is not stored for long and does not require strict adherence to all conditions. In an apartment where the temperature is high, the cucumbers will be pickled quickly, after which they should be moved to the refrigerator.

Barrel cucumbers

In a barrel, cucumbers are stored in a special fermented brine at a temperature of 0 to 1 degree. It is impossible to achieve such indicators in apartment conditions. The shelf life of the barrel product is short, since the long process of bacterial development leads to a change in the composition of the brine, as a result of which the vegetables deteriorate, losing their taste and appearance.

How long can lightly salted cucumbers be stored?

The shelf life of a product largely depends on the conditions created for it and the preparation methods used:

If the cucumbers were not treated with hot water, the cold pickling method was used, they will retain their properties for 5 days when stored at temperatures up to +15 degrees.
If you place a bottle of pickled cucumbers in the refrigerator, the shelf life can be extended to 7-10 days.
If you drain the brine and put the product in an airtight box or plastic bag, its shelf life will be extended to 2 weeks. In this case, you need to ensure a temperature of about 0 degrees. It must be taken into account that these cucumbers will be inferior in quality to freshly salted ones; they will lose their elasticity and become more sluggish.

Attention! It is not recommended to freeze lightly salted cucumbers. After defrosting, they will lose not only their structure, becoming more watery and loose, but also their taste.

Best before date

The shelf life of cucumbers depends on many factors, such as the method of twisting and the conditions in the storage room. It is also worth paying attention to how long you can store a sealed jar and an already opened one, since the period is significantly different.

Before opening the container

Cucumbers sealed for the winter in various ways should be used up within 1 year. But if you leave the jars for the second year, they will not differ in taste, but before use you should check for the absence of fungi and infections.

After opening the container

An open jar is susceptible to infection with fungal diseases, so keeping the product in the refrigerator for a long time is not recommended. Approximate shelf life is 2 weeks. Next, you should visually check the preservative for the presence of cloudiness and mold.

Pickled cucumbers in jars - shelf life of closed and after opening

Cucumbers prepared with vinegar, both unopened and after opening the container, must be stored in compliance with the following important conditions:

The storage container should not be exposed to light.
Do not leave the workpiece with a heat source for a long time.
Avoid storing glass containers in the cold - they may burst. In addition, with severe hypothermia, cucumbers can lose their crispy texture and soften.

You can store cucumbers prepared for the winter at room temperature. A pantry or kitchen cabinet is recommended as storage space.

Opened pickled cucumbers are best stored in the refrigerator. Many young housewives are interested in the question: how long can pickled cucumbers be stored in a closed jar? Within 12 months. If a jar with an open product is kept in the cold, then the shelf life is the same. Just enough until the next harvest.

Storing pickled cucumbers frozen

If, after opening the jar, you no longer want to eat pickles, but it’s a pity to throw them away, you can freeze the vegetables, thereby increasing their shelf life. To do this, remove all the vegetables from the jar, rinse them and dry them on a towel. After drying, place the cucumbers in a food bag and place in the freezer.

After freezing, cucumbers can only be used for cooking dishes that require heat treatment.

Tips and tricks

To extend the storage period of cucumbers in apartment conditions, you can use the following tips:

use medium or large specimens for pickling so that they soak longer;
use a cold fill, since hot brine shortens storage;
Keep in mind that if you trim the ends of cucumbers, pickling will speed up and the storage period will decrease.

It is worth taking note of the recommendations of famous culinary specialists to add a few black peppercorns to the jar before twisting, which, in their opinion, significantly extends the storage of healthy cucumbers.

With vodka

Pickles with vodka do not require lengthy preparation and sterilization of vegetables. Place washed and dried horseradish and currant leaves, an umbrella of dill, a sprig of celery, garlic and a few peppercorns into sterilized jars.

Cucumbers with vodka - a very tasty recipe

Cucumbers soaked in cold water are laid out on the spices. 3 tbsp are poured into the container. spoons of salt and 50 g of vodka, everything is filled to the very top with purified water, closed with a nylon lid and put away in a dark, cool place.

Note! After 3-4 days, the greens are ready to eat. The snack is stored in a cool place.