How to Preserve Cucumbers – 3 Easy Methods

A self-sufficient garden must also include delicious cucumbers, whether they are salad or farmer’s cucumbers. In addition to the perennial favorite tomato, cucumbers are a favorite food of many amateur gardeners. But also advanced gardeners love to work with these vegetables! Cucumbers taste best when eaten raw because they contain important vitamins and minerals, especially when still in the shell.

They also dehydrate, can lower blood sugar, stimulate digestion, and are beneficial as a face mask for the skin. However, they also make a tasty addition to soups, salads, vegetables, and sauces. We want to show you how to preserve cucumbers and what you can do with them.

Before we start with our methods to preserve cucumbers we want to introduce you the topic of growing cucumbers in greenhouses. This is a fantastic method to grow the best plants to preserve cucumbers. For more information have a look at the article below:

Preserve Cucumbers – How long can they be preserved?

There are a few points to consider before you start to preserve cucumbers. If they were grown ahead of time, cucumbers can already be harvested starting at the end of May; otherwise, it will take until the first ones are ripe in July. You are eligible for continuous harvesting for this through the end of October. The cucumber contains more vitamins the earlier it is cut. Cucumbers can be stored for up to three weeks at a temperature of 10 to 15 degrees after being removed from the bush.

To keep the cucumber crisp and fresh for a very long time, make sure the outside is dry and wrap it, ideally in newspaper or a tea towel. The preservation of cucumbers may maintain the quality and slow down the growth of microorganisms during storage¹. By the way, cucumbers should not be stored in the refrigerator, as they are sensitive to cold and will only keep there for a few days.

Method 1: Boiling / Canning Cucumbers

Both boiling and canning refer to the same method to preserve cucumbers. The primary distinction between pickling and cooking is whether the cucumbers are cooking inside the screw-top jar or in the jar’s actual contents. Large salad cucumbers or peeled cucumbers work particularly well for canning. How to do it is as follows:

• The cucumbers should first be peeled, if necessary, and cut into bite-sized pieces. Additionally, the stem end should be cut off because bitter substances might gather there. Now that the cucumbers have been salted, they are allowed to stand overnight to drain their water.
• Preserve cucumbers in undamaged preserving jars, which must first be sterilized by boiling them for a short time in hot water with the sealing rubber. This effectively eliminates all microorganisms that might shorten the cucumbers’ ability to be stored.
• The cucumbers are taken out of the brine the next day, given a quick rinse, and then put in the sterile jars.
• The cucumbers in the preserving jars are now covered with the water, vinegar, salt, sugar, and spices that pair well with cucumbers, such as mustard seeds, dill, pepper, or bay leaf, and brought to a boil in a pot for a few minutes. As an alternative, you could boil the cucumber pieces in the broth for about 4 minutes, or until they start to glaze over.
• The jars are now put in the preheated oven’s water bath for the actual canning of the cucumbers. This can be done with a pan or saucepan filled with water to a height of a few centimeters. The jars are then boiled down for about 30 minutes at 90 °C (194 °F).

Cucumbers can be kept for more than a year using this method to preserve cucumbers. The cellar is the suggested location for canning jars so that they are cool and protected from light.

Method 2: Freezing Cucumbers

The next method to preserve cucumbers is to freeze them. You immediately consider whether cucumbers can be frozen if you find it difficult to eat while picking them. The response is based on the intended use. Since cucumbers are primarily made of water, when they are frozen, the fruit’s cells rupture. As a result, the cucumber quickly loses its crunch and becomes mushy when it is thawed. 

On the other hand, cucumbers can be frozen successfully and used for soup or braised cucumbers. Pickling, fermenting, and preserving the cucumbers are much better options if the consistency needs to be kept, though. So, really try to use this methods to preserve cucumbers.

Method 3: Fermenting Cucumbers

Fermenting is another great way to preserve cucumbers. Maintenance of structural  integrity of cucumbers  during fermentation is greatly dependent on chemical and physical properties of the fresh fruit, including  size, maturity, cultivar, and physiology². When fermenting cucumbers, a cold decoction of about 20 g (0,7 oz) of salt to 500 ml (2,10 cups) of water is poured over the layers of cucumbers, other vegetables, and spices like dill flowers in the sterile jar. In the jar, the cucumbers should be tightly packed, and the salt decoction should completely enclose them.

Now the vegetables are weighed down so that the broth always covers them and mold cannot grow on them. The jars are kept in a warm environment to start the lactic acid bacteria’s fermentation process. Air bubbles develop during this process and need to escape from the jar, so the lid should only be put on loosely. Fermented cucumbers are ready for consumption after about 1 to 2 weeks and can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks.

Before we finish, I want you to introduce you to another method, making cucumbers healthier and tastier. If you are growing cucumbers yourself try out companion planting! There are several cucumber companion plants and also a few you should avoid. With the help of these information you will be able to grow the best plants to preserve cucumbers!

References

1. Sun, Y., Zhao, X., Ma, Y., Guan, H., Liang, H., & Wang, D. (2022). Inhibitory effect of modified atmosphere packaging on Escherichia coli O157: H7 in fresh-cut cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.) and effectively maintain quality during storage. Food Chemistry, 369, 130969.
2. Fleming, H. P. (1984). Developments in cucumber fermentation. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology. Biotechnology, 34(4), 241-252.