Swedish Salad / Sałatka Szwedzka
Cucumbers are still in season. If you have slightly overgrown cucumbers and are not sure what to do with them then this is a perfect recipe for a Swedish salad. The recipe is very simple and proven, and you can eat it all year round.Ingredients: 2 kg small cucumbersFirst soaking brine: 1.5 l boiled water and 150 grams of saltFor 2 liters of vinegar brine 2%From distilled white vinegar 10 %:500 grams granulated white sugar, 1100 ml's water400 ml's distilled white vinegar 3 bay leavesFrom apple cider vinegar 6 %: 500 grams granulated white sugar830 ml's water 670 ml's apple cider vinegar 3 bay leavesSpices for the jars:For every jar with a capacity of 900 ml: 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed, 3 grains allspice, 3 grains black peppercorns.
Instructions
- Cucumbers for the Swedish salad are cut into slices with the skin on. Therefore, wash the cucumbers very thoroughly under cold, running water.
- Cut off the ends of the cucumbers. Cut the cucumbers into thin slices. I like to cut the cucumbers with a knife into slices about 1-1.5 mm thick.
- Place all the sliced cucumbers in a large bowl.
- Pour the first brine (salt and water) over the cucumber slices. Make sure they are all covered.
- If the cucumbers were cut into almost transparent slices it is enough to soak them in brine for an hour. Slices up to 1.5 mm thick should be soaked for two hours, and thicker ones for up to three hours.
- After this time, drain the cucumbers thoroughly. Pour out the water and place the cucumbers in a bowl.
- Prepare 3 jars with a capacity of 900 ml each or jars of other capacities. In total, they should have a capacity of about 4300 ml. The jars should be perfectly clean, and preferably sterilized with boiling water. The same goes for the lids. Use only undamaged jars and lids
- Prepare the second brine. Pour 3.5 cups of water into a pot. Add two cups of regular sugar. Boil the water and sugar. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Pour in two cups of 10% spirit vinegar and bring the marinade to a boil again, then immediately turn it off. Fill all the jars with the Swedish salad with the marinade while it is still hot.
- Place a cotton cloth or a new cloth diaper on the bottom of a wide pot. Place the jars next to each other, but so that they do not touch each other. Pour water to a maximum of 3/5 of the jars. Set the burner to medium power and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the power to low and pasteurize the jars for about 10 minutes.
- Immediately after pasteurization, you can also turn the jars upside down. This way, you will check whether the jars are tightly closed. This can also help with the caps that did not suck during pasteurization. After 10 minutes, you can turn the jars upside down and take the jars with the salad to a cool and shaded place without humidity. Swedish salad can be opened a week after making it. Enjoy!