Nakladané uhorky

Ingredients

Cucumbers

• 1.5 kgsmall pickling cucumbers, firm and unwaxed
• 2onions, sliced
• 1 piecehorseradish root, sliced
• 1large bunch dill with crowns
• 6 clovesgarlic

Pickle

• 1 litrewater
• 400 mlwhite vinegar
• 60 gsalt
• 100 gsugar
• 1 tbspmustard seed
• 1 tspblack peppercorns
• 1 tspallspice berries
• 4bay leaves

Directions

1. Scrub the cucumbers and trim a sliver off the blossom end of each — that end carries an enzyme that softens the whole jar and is the usual reason home gherkins go limp.
2. Soak them in ice-cold water for two hours, which firms them.
3. Sterilise the jars and lids in a hot oven or boiling water.
4. Pack the cucumbers upright into the jars with the onion, horseradish, dill and garlic tucked among them.
5. Bring the water, vinegar, salt, sugar, mustard seed, peppercorns, allspice and bay to a boil, stirring until the salt and sugar dissolve.
6. Pour it boiling over the cucumbers to cover, leaving 1 cm of headspace, and seal at once.
7. Stand the sealed jars upside down under a thick towel for a few hours as they cool. The retained heat pasteurises the contents and the cooling pulls a vacuum, which is what makes them shelf-stable.
8. Leave three weeks before opening. They keep a year unopened; refrigerate once opened.

Technique

• Trim the blossom end. Thirty seconds, and it decides the texture.
• Pour the pickle boiling and seal immediately. A jar filled with cooled liquid will not hold on a shelf.
• Small firm unwaxed cucumbers only. Salad cucumbers are the wrong variety and go hollow.

Substitutions

• A grape or oak leaf in each jar, whose tannins keep them firmer.
• Cider vinegar for white, which is rounder.
• Less sugar for a sharper pickle.

Variations

• A salt-fermented version instead of vinegar, which is sourer and needs a cellar.
• The Czech Znojemské okurky are the same style with more onion.

History

A Slovak summer preserving job, the jars sealed and stacked in cellars for winter.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nakladané uhorky?

Nakladané uhorky is a fermented & pickled from Slovakia: gherkins pickled with dill and horseradish, opened with cold meat. A Slovak summer preserving job, the jars sealed and stacked in cellars for winter.

How long does Nakladané uhorky take to make?

Nakladané uhorky takes 40 min plus 3 weeks of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes fills 3 × 500 ml jars. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Nakladané uhorky?

Yes, within limits. A grape or oak leaf in each jar, whose tannins keep them firmer. Cider vinegar for white, which is rounder. Less sugar for a sharper pickle.

What is the most important thing to get right in Nakladané uhorky?

Scrub the cucumbers and trim a sliver off the blossom end of each — that end carries an enzyme that softens the whole jar and is the usual reason home gherkins go limp.