Composition and calorie content of lightly salted cucumbers. Useful properties, possible harm and contraindications to the product. How to cook properly and in what dishes to use. Note! During pregnancy, lightly salted cucumbers can be eaten practically without restrictions: they are safe for the child and help to cope with toxicosis.
Harm and contraindications to lightly salted cucumbers
Vegetables are not subject to long or aggressive processing, so there are very few contraindications to lightly salted cucumbers.
Lightly salted cucumbers should be used with caution in such situations:
- Pressure problems. This product may slightly increase and decrease blood pressure.
- Lactation. Lightly salted cucumbers should be introduced carefully and monitor the baby's condition. If negative reactions appear, then it is worthwhile to exclude the dish from the diet for a while.
- Diseases of the pancreas. This does not apply to type 1 or type 2 diabetes if consumed in moderation.
Absolute contraindications to the use of lightly salted cucumbers:
- Gallstone disease, kidney disease, hepatitis. Eating lightly salted cucumbers can cause fluid retention in the body.
- Disorders of the stomach and intestines. Due to the slight laxative effect, the fiber contained in lightly salted cucumbers will worsen the condition.
- Under the age of five. It is worth limiting salt intake, as in a fragile body, this can lead to liver and kidney disease.
How to cook lightly salted cucumbers
When choosing cucumbers for this salting method, you need to take into account several characteristics of suitable vegetables:
- The size … It is necessary to take small cucumbers of the same size, but not gherkins: they can pickle too quickly, and the salt in the recipe will have to be adjusted empirically.
- Skin … There should be a lot of pimples on it, which indicate that this is not a salad variety, but a salted one.
- Colour … The fruit should be bright green, a sign that the cucumbers will remain crisp in the process.
If the cucumbers are too large, then they can be cut into pieces of the required size. To speed up the salting process of whole cucumbers, you can trim off the tips. If the skin of the cucumber is too rough, then it can be partially cut off during preparation.
During cooking in a jar, cucumbers should not be stacked too tightly, pressing them down: the finished fruits after salting may turn out to be too soft.
When salting, it is better to use rock or table salt: iodized salt can spoil the taste of the product.
Recipes for lightly salted cucumbers:
- Hot salted cucumbers … Rinse and dry small cucumbers (1, 5 kg). Peel 5 large cloves of garlic, 4 sprigs of dill, 3 cherry leaves and 6 currant leaves, wash thoroughly. Place the cucumbers vertically in a sterile jar, spreading in layers with garlic and herbs. Pour 2 liters of water into a saucepan, add 4 tablespoons of salt, allspice peas (9 pieces), clove buds (4 pieces) and one bay leaf. Bring the brine to a boil, pour over cucumbers, cover with a clean towel, leave warm. Can be consumed after 24 hours.
- Dry pickled cucumbers in a bag … Soak 1 kg of small cucumbers in cold boiled water for 30 minutes. Finely chop a bunch of dill and 3-4 cloves of garlic. Put cucumbers, herbs and garlic in a bag, add a tablespoon of salt, a few peas of allspice, half a teaspoon of sugar. Shake the bag well and leave for an hour at room temperature, then refrigerate for 3 hours. The bag must be shaken frequently to ensure that the salting passes evenly. Such lightly salted cucumbers cook very quickly, but they have one drawback: they need to be eaten as quickly as possible, otherwise they will take excess salt.
Recipes with lightly salted cucumbers
Lightly salted cucumbers can be eaten without additional processing, but as an addition to vegetable slices or any salads that use regular cucumbers. It is also not necessary to remove the raw fruit to add lightly salted: they combine perfectly, adding fresh and spicy smells.
In the classic recipe for okroshka, a raw cucumber can be replaced with lightly salted, which will add a little piquant flavor to the dish.
Recipes for dishes using pickled cucumbers:
- Pork rolls … Cut the pork neck (1 kg) into large pieces, one and a half centimeters thick, salt, pepper and beat well with a kitchen hammer. Cut 200 grams of lightly salted cucumbers and 100 grams of carrots into thin strips. Chop a bunch of green onions. Put the cucumbers, onions and carrots on the steaks, twist them with a tube, secure with toothpicks or wind them with a thread on both sides closer to the edge of the roll. Put the rolls in a baking dish, cover it with cling foil, bake for 40 minutes at 200 degrees. Also rolls can be fried in vegetable oil. Drizzle with sauce and herbs before serving.
- "Festive" salad … Boil the beef tongue (250 grams) in salted water with bay leaves, onions and peppercorns. Drain the broth, let cool, peel, cut into thin strips. Separate the leaves from the head of Peking cabbage, rinse, allow to dry, tear with your hands into small pieces. Lightly salted cucumbers (200 grams) cut into strips. Boil 2 chicken eggs, cut into small cubes, set aside a little yolk to decorate the top. Fry 50 grams of walnuts in a dry frying pan or microwave, suck, peel off the skin, break into small pieces. Mix mayonnaise (100 grams) with crushed garlic and a little greens. Spread the ingredients in layers, coat with mayonnaise and add to taste. Put Chinese cabbage on the top layer, put some mayonnaise, yolk and walnuts figuratively.
- Canapé tubes … Prepare 10-15 thin slices of ham. Choose with a more homogeneous texture to avoid crumbling. Hard-boiled chicken eggs (2 pieces), peel, grate. Lightly salted cucumbers (150 grams) cut into small cubes. Grate 100 grams of cheese on a fine grater. Combine all the ingredients; mayonnaise or processed cheese can be used to hold the filling together. Put the filling on each ham circle, wrap it in a tube, fasten with skewers.
Interesting facts about lightly salted cucumbers
Back in the 17th century, lightly salted cucumbers were prepared in Russia, but the dish is not limited by the framework of the Slavic countries. So, in Caucasian recipes for salting, the fruits of Lakonos are used to color cucumbers in a pinkish color.
Very often housewives confuse pickled cucumbers, lightly salted, pickled and pickled. Of this entire list, it was lightly salted cucumbers that were subjected to the least aggressive cooking method, which means that more nutrients were preserved in them.
In addition to cold and hot dishes, lightly salted cucumbers can be added when preparing Tartar or Dzadziki sauce. Such a recipe will make the taste of the dressing more intense, but will shorten its shelf life.
How to cook lightly salted cucumbers - watch the video:
Many chefs are accustomed to using pickled cucumbers for their dishes, rather than lightly salted ones due to the longer shelf life. But is it worth sacrificing the unique taste and smell of lightly salted cucumbers, in which a note of freshness has been preserved and the aroma of pickles has appeared? Experiment: replace fresh or pickled cucumber in your usual dish with lightly salted, and let it become extraordinary.
