Why cans of cucumbers explode - we find out the reasons for poor-quality seaming
You can't get fresh vegetables in winter, besides, they are expensive, and the taste is not the same. So the hostesses are trying to prepare for the future everything that grows in the garden, and primarily cucumbers. And here a problem often arises and the most common question is why jars of cucumbers explode. Sometimes, even with the most experienced, they stubbornly refuse to stand. If you see that the brine has become cloudy, wait, soon the lid will swell and, most likely, the workpiece will "burst".
Why cucumber jars explode
- The container is poorly prepared. Glass containers are well washed and sterilized. Even new lids also need to be treated with at least vinegar.
- The variety is not suitable or the vegetables are not prepared. Salad cucumbers are not used for winter preparations - they soften and begin to ferment. Fruits for canning are selected small and dense, without voids inside, where air is contained. Before putting them in jars, they must be soaked for a day. All spices are thoroughly washed.
- The recipe has not been followed, especially with the proportions of vinegar. You cannot add it, as well as salt and sugar, "by eye", everything should be according to the recipe. If the brine is weak, it will ferment. It is important to accurately measure the vinegar, which serves as a preservative, because cucumbers do not have their own acid.
- The cooking technology has been violated. If provided sterilization jars of brine, they must be covered with lids. Otherwise, the vinegar will evaporate. And they roll up the cucumbers at once, without removing the lids. After that, it is advisable to turn the jar. Thus, it is checked whether it is sealed tightly. And the neck of the container is additionally treated with hot brine. If it is preserved by hot pouring, the cans must necessarily cool under the blanket, passing through a kind of pasteurization.
To prevent the preservation from tearing, store it in a cool and dark place. Best of all - in the basement or cellar, in apartments it can be insulated balconies, storage rooms in the corridor, where it is not so hot.
What to do with exploded cucumbers
Such a blank is thrown away unambiguously, because there is a risk of getting sick with botulism. Even pouring fresh brine will not help, vegetables will ferment further, since there has already been contact with air. But if you notice a problem at the initial stage (the brine becomes cloudy, the lid has just inflated, but has not yet ripped off), you can try to save the seaming. To do this, open the jar and first of all taste the cucumbers. If the taste and smell have not changed, they simply fill them with fresh brine and re-roll them.
When re-preparing the brine, it is necessary to slightly reduce the amount of vinegar, sugar and salt. The vegetables have already absorbed them in the previous fill.
However, all repeated manipulations concern only freshly rolled products. All cans that have been stored for a long time, even from last season, are thrown away when they become cloudy. Even if the lids "dropped" over time after swelling, the brine is cloudy. Such preservation may contain botulism bacteria.