The main reasons why jars of cucumbers explode, how to save canning or redo, is it possible to eat
Cucumbers are some of the most capricious of all canned vegetables. It is worth making a small mistake during conservation, and the bank fires. Sometimes cucumbers become cloudy and their taste deteriorates. There can be many reasons why some cucumber jars explode. Incorrect preparation of the main product or non-observance of proportions often leads to such an incident. The correct preparation of containers also plays an important role.
Causes of clouding of cucumbers and explosion of cans
Cucumber jars explode very often. Sometimes the whole batch of spins explodes, and sometimes one or two of them. Possible reasons:
- Air entrapment while rolling the lid.
- Improper preparation of the marinade.
- Poor preparation of cans.
- Improper preparation of vegetables.
All these points must be taken into account and the necessary requirements must be met. Otherwise, you can stay without cucumbers for the winter.
Air ingress
If air gets into the jar during conservation, it becomes favorable for the growth of bacteria. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to pour the brine into a jar of cucumbers to the very top.
If preservation was carried out by sterilization, after the can has been removed from the sterilizer, the lid must not be removed. It must be tightened immediately. Therefore, jars with those lids that will be rolled up are sterilized.
If for any reason the lid needs to be changed, it must be sterilized. To do this, it is immersed in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then taken out and immediately changed to the one that was on the can. The lids are opened and replaced with others very quickly so that air does not enter the can. And this should be done at a time when the can is still in the sterilizer or has just been removed.
If you do this later, there is a risk of air ingress and bacteria growth.
Air can also get into the can if the seamer does not roll up the lids well. In this case, the banks will definitely explode. We need to change the machine and roll all the cans. But such a measure can lead to the fact that the banks will not explode, but the pickle in the cucumbers will become cloudy.
To prevent this from happening, you need to change the lids, sterilize the conservation again and roll up with a reliable machine.
Improper preparation of the marinade
A cucumber marinade is prepared with vinegar. If it is not enough, or not in the right way, conservation will not work.
When pickling, keep in mind that the vinegar evaporates when boiled.Therefore, when preparing the marinade, it must be added at the very end so that it is minimally heat treated. The best option is when the vinegar is added directly to the jar.
It is bad when proportions are not respected and little vinegar is added. In this case, the marinade becomes poorly concentrated and does not perform well its functions.
It's the same with other components. Salt and sugar should be added according to the recipe. If there are not enough of them, the cucumbers will ferment and become cloudy.
Poor preparation of cans
To cook pickled or pickled cucumbers, you need to properly prepare the container for them. They are usually marinated in glass jars. They must be sterilized before use. There are several ways to do this:
- Jars are well sterilized in the oven. Before sterilization, they are washed well with detergent, rinsed and turned over to glass water. Then put the jars in the oven on a baking sheet and heat well. If the jars are small and fit in the oven at a time, they are left in the oven until used. If more cans are needed, they are taken out and placed on a clean ironed towel.
- Sterilization of cans with hot steam is quite effective, but it takes time, because you have to deal with each one separately. They select dishes on which you can put the upside down jar with the neck down. A teapot or enamel mug works best for this. If the container does not fit well, you can insert something into the kettle, for example, a spoon. Pour some water into the bottom and bring to a boil. Make sure that steam enters the jar and steamed it well. If the bank is not correctly installed or steamed for a short time, there will be no positive result.
- You can boil jars in water in a large bowl. But such sterilization is less effective, because it is impossible to achieve a temperature above 100 degrees.
If the cans are poorly sterilized or have stood for a long time after sterilization, the quality of canned food will deteriorate at best. But more often they explode and become unusable.
Improper preparation of cucumbers
In order for pickled cucumbers to turn out delicious and the banks do not explode, you must not make mistakes when preparing vegetables:
- If you pick cucumbers in rainy weather, they quickly deteriorate and do not stand well. It is better to use such cucumbers for fermentation or leave to settle for a couple of days. But at the same time, make sure that they do not deteriorate.
- To make the cucumbers crisp, they need to be soaked for 3 hours in water. If this is not done, they become soft and bacteria can develop.
- Poorly washed cucumbers are a source of bacteriological contamination. Escherichia coli, botulism pathogens and other microorganisms can settle on them together with dirt.
- You can not pickle cucumbers with signs of decay, they guarantee an explosion of conservation. It is better to clean them and use them on salads.
By fulfilling such requirements, canning can be achieved without loss.
Insufficient sterilization time
In recipes, the sterilization time is given conditionally. It happens that it was sterilized, as written in the recipe, but the cucumbers exploded anyway. To properly sterilize, you need to consider the following factors:
- Small cucumbers are sterilized less than large cucumbers - just like cans.
- At the beginning of sterilization, it is better to put a low heat so that it has time to evenly warm up.
- Finished cucumbers should change color.
- It is better to put greens and garlic in a marinade, and not in a jar, if canning is done by steaming.
Compliance with these rules will allow you to get high-quality preservation of cucumbers for the winter.
Why are the cans flipped and wrapped?
Rolled up cans must be turned upside down with the lids so that the lids warm up well.Then the banks must be wrapped in a blanket. This is done so that the banks slowly freeze. At this time, the sterilization process continues in them.
If everything was done correctly, a beautiful transparent preservation can be observed the next day. If mistakes were made, the marinade will become cloudy and the jar will swell.
Can clouded cucumbers be remade?
If the cucumbers are cloudy, but the jar is not swollen yet, you can still redo them. To do this, remove the lid, drain the marinade, wash the cucumbers with clean water.
Be sure to taste them. If vinegar has been used, the taste may change and then nothing can be done. But if the cucumbers taste good, they are crispy and do not sizzle, they can be closed again.
To re-seal the cloudy cucumbers, you need to prepare a new marinade and pour it into the jar. In this case, the proportions must be slightly reduced, taking into account that the cucumbers have already absorbed some of the ingredients.
Is it okay to eat cucumbers in cloudy brine?
If the canned cucumbers are cloudy, but the taste has not deteriorated, you can eat them if they were recently closed.
If the seals are stored for a long time and have begun to grow cloudy, it is dangerous to use them. Botulism bacteria develop in canned food, and there is no guarantee that they will not be present this time. Doctors cannot always save from this dangerous disease, so it is not worth the risk.
How to rescue exploded cucumbers
If a jar of cucumbers explodes, it will no longer be possible to revive it. Even if you rinse everything well and change the marinade, the fermentation process has already begun, and all activities will be in vain.
And what to do if nothing can be fixed, and it is a pity to throw away the cucumbers? There is only one way out, send them to wander on. Check if the vegetables do not have an unpleasant smell, cover them with a nylon lid and take them to the basement. However, such foods should not be consumed raw. It is better to cook pickles or hodgepodge of them.
How to avoid exploding cucumber jars
For cans to stand well, it is not enough to roll them up correctly. Proper storage of canned food also plays an important role.
Store seams in a cool, dark place. Cellars, basements and cold storage rooms are suitable for this. In hot weather, the risk of explosions in canned food increases, so you need to monitor the temperature of the premises.
