Pickles and pickles for the winter are an important stage in the summer period, on the success of which depends on the abundance of vegetable delicacies in the cold season. The most common applicants for salting are considered cucumbers and tomatoes, which every housewife harvests in large quantities. In this article we offer you some interesting recipes for pickling tomatoes in a bucket, because, despite the unusual packaging, the finished result will exceed all expectations.

How to choose tomatoes for salting

The selection of high-quality fruits for salting is the first and most important step on the path to obtaining delicious salting, so it is important to learn to distinguish a good product from a low-quality one.

Did you know? In salted tomatoes, absolutely everything is valuable: the fruits can be eaten with a side dish, and the remaining brine can be used to prepare a magnificent and unusual taste test, which is facilitated by the magnesium and potassium present in the composition.

There are several basic criteria for that “suitable” tomato:

• he must be mature, but not overripe, otherwise the salting will turn into porridge;
• for salting, it is desirable to choose varieties with a dense skin that will not crack during heat treatment;
• it is better not to buy tomatoes on the stalks, as the ripened specimens would not so well hold on to it (green fruits would not be so juicy and soft, besides they contain the substance solanin, dangerous for humans);
• the color of the selected specimens should be uniform, without the slightest green areas;
• the smell of tomatoes suitable for salting must be fresh and “tomato”, which can not be said about many fruits grown for mass sale;
• Do not pay attention to too bright and shiny tomatoes, because such an appearance may well indicate the presence of nitrate compounds in them;
• the surface of the selected vegetables should be flat and smooth, without bumps, growths and other deviations, indicating the possible use of hormonal fertilizers during cultivation.

In addition, do not forget about the freshness of tomatoes. Rotten, crushed, or diseased fruits should also be discarded. You can notice the problem by the appearance of the tomatoes: for example, on sick fruits, there are often gray or dark spots, cracks, white dots and putrefactive foci.

How to salt tomatoes in a bucket

Salting tomatoes in a bucket is already an unusual way of harvesting tomatoes, but here there are many variations of the procedure. We suggest you consider several popular and very delicious recipes for salting tomatoes in such containers.

Recipe 1 (red tomatoes)

The first recipe is a recipe for salting tomatoes, which will taste like barrel fruits.

To prepare such a pickle you will need:

• fresh tomatoes - 6.5 kg;
• hot pepper - 2 pods;
• fried oak chips - 10–15 pcs;
• horseradish leaves - 10 pcs.;
• cherry leaves - 15 pcs.;
• dill umbrellas - 10 pcs.;
• garlic - 4 heads.

Additional products will be needed to prepare the brine.

This list includes:

• black allspice - 10 pcs.;
• black pepper peas - 10 pcs.;
• cloves - 5 pcs.;
• water - 5 l;
• salt and sugar - 250 g each

The process of preparing salting is not much different from other conservation options, but at each stage there are still some nuances.

Important! It will be possible to take a sample from salting no earlier than 1.5–2 weeks after salting.

The sequence of actions will be as follows:

1. Tomatoes, dill umbrellas, horseradish leaves and cherries should be washed well, and garlic should be peeled.
2. Then put the first layer of tomatoes in the prepared clean bucket (the fruits should be pressed together as tightly as possible) and shift it with a few leaves of horseradish, currant, oak chips, and on top with cherry leaves, crushed garlic cloves, a few pieces of hot red pepper and dill umbrellas .
3. Put the second layer of tomatoes and cover it with the same herbs and spices as the previous one. Alternation of spices and tomatoes is performed until the bucket is completely filled with them.
4. Prepare the brine from the above products and, after cooling it, pour the tomatoes.
5. Take a round saucer and place it on top of the tomatoes, crushing them lightly.
6. Close the bucket with a lid and leave it in the room for a day. After this time, it will be possible to transfer the pickles to the basement or other cool place where the workpiece can reach the desired condition.

Video: how to salt tomatoes in a bucket (recipe 1)

Recipe 2 (red tomatoes)

This method of pickling tomatoes can be used both for harvesting in small buckets, and for canning. A characteristic feature of this option can be considered the absence in the list of components of the usual horseradish leaves, but if you wish, you can still add them. Ready salting is quite sharp and salty.

The following components are required:

• strong tomato fruits, preferably of the same size - 4-5 kg;
• currant and cherry leaves - 10 pieces each;
• a large bunch of dill and parsley;
• basil and tarragon - 2 bundles each;
• celery - 2-3 bunches;
• garlic - 1 large head;
• hot pepper - 1-2 pieces (to taste).

To prepare the brine, you will need the following ingredients:

• cold water - about 2-3 liters (how much will go into a bucket filled with tomatoes);
• coarse salt - 3 l 9 tbsp. spoons.

Having prepared everything you need, it's time to move on to the direct process of pickling.

Did you know? Tomatoes help the body absorb glucose and insulin, which is very beneficial for people with diabetes.

It consists of the following steps:

1. Rinse all prepared fruits and greens thoroughly and allow the water to drain a little.
2. Rinse the bucket (or other salting container) well in warm water, preferably using soda or mustard powder.
3. Take a knife and, before moving the tomatoes into the prepared bucket, make a few small punctures in the petiole zone, that is, where the fruit was attached to the branch. In a bucket, tomatoes should be punctured down.
4. Having carefully laid out the first layer, take a clove of garlic and cut it into small plates on top of the tomatoes.
5. Following the garlic, lay out a few leaves of cherries and currants, a small bunch of purple basil, celery, parsley and dill. On top of the dill, place a few twigs of tarragon.
6. Having finished with the first layer, take the knife again, make punctures in tomato fruits and lay out the second layer.
7. Cut the garlic, put the leaves of currants, cherries, celery, dill, parsley and other herbs that you laid out on top of the first layer. Also do not forget about hot pepper, which for convenience can be cut into several parts.
8. Lay out the third layer of tomatoes, which for the food five-liter bucket is likely to be the last. On top, you can sprinkle the tomatoes with another chopped clove of garlic and cover with greens: cherry and currant leaves, celery, dill, basil, parsley (as a result, the tomatoes should be completely covered with greens).
9. Prepare a brine for which 9 tbsp. Must be dissolved in 3 liters of purified or well water. tablespoons of salt.
10. Pour the tomatoes with brine, only so that it completely covers the fruits and greens.
11. Take the cheesecloth, fold it in several layers and, covering the salting, sprinkle with a layer of mustard powder on top (this will prevent the appearance of mold).
12. Bend the edges of the gauze up and press down on top with a suitable inverted plate (in diameter it should correspond to the diameter of the bucket itself).
13. Cover the bucket with a lid, slightly pressing the plate, and place a tray or other container with sides under it to collect the brine that appears during the salting process (the lid does not always tightly adhere to the bucket).

Ready salting should be immediately taken to a cool place or placed in the refrigerator where the tomatoes can be well salted and the lid of the bucket will not swell.

Video: how to pickle tomatoes in a bucket (recipe 2)

Recipe 3 (green tomatoes)

Salting of green tomato fruits is an unusual harvesting option, but with the right approach to the task and it will be able to please you with delicious fruits for the winter.

In this case, you will need:

• green tomatoes - 4-5 kg;
• dill - 3-4 large branches;
• celery - 3-4 branches;
• horseradish - 4 sheets;
• tarragon - 2-3 branches;
• currant and cherry leaves - 20 pieces each;
• garlic - 2 heads;
• coriander seeds - 1 tbsp. the spoon;
• mustard seeds - 1 tbsp. the spoon;
• bay leaf - 5-6 pieces;
• salt - 15–17 tbsp. spoons (depending on the amount of liquid used);
• black pepper peas - 0.5 tbsp. spoons;
• water - 3-4 l (not boiled, preferably purified).

Salting is best done in a small five-liter bucket of food-grade plastic, observing the following sequence of actions:

1. To begin with, wash the bucket with soda well, rinse the tomato fruits and greens.
2. At the bottom of the bowl, lay a few branches of celery, as many dill, 2-3 torn leaves of horseradish, a sprig of tarragon, 5-6 bay leaves, 10 cherry leaves, several heads of garlic (you can not remove the husk). Also, on the bottom of the bucket you need to scatter 1 full tablespoon of coriander seeds, a similar amount of mustard seeds and about half a tablespoon of black pepper, peas or a mixture of peppers.
3. On a prepared green surface, lay a layer of large tomatoes, then another smaller one.
4. Cover the tomatoes with a few more bunches of dill, celery, horseradish and chopped garlic cloves.
5. Put the last layer of the smallest fruits on top of the greens.
6. Cook the brine. To do this, take 1 full tablespoon of salt per 1 liter of water and mix them until completely dissolved (5 kg of tomatoes will require approximately 3-4 liters of liquid).
7. Pour the brine over the tomatoes so that they are completely immersed in the liquid.
8. Above, you need to put oppression on the vegetables (you can use a strong plate) and install the load, the role of which is perfect for a three-liter jar of water.

The process of preparing salting will take at least two weeks, and all this time the preparation should be in a warm room, preferably in the kitchen. After the specified time has elapsed, it is already possible to take a sample from the pickle, serving salted tomatoes both as an independent snack and in combination with various side dishes.

Video: how to salt tomatoes in a bucket (recipe 3)

What can I bring to the table

In winter, pickled and beautifully decorated vegetables can become a real decoration of the festive table, and not to mention the possibility of their use as an appetizer for more modest events. They can be served along with mashed potatoes, vegetable casseroles, and also as an integral component of pizza or pie. Sometimes real salads of first courses, such as Siberian cabbage soup, and vegetable salads based on them are prepared from salted red tomatoes.

Important! Using pickles when cooking dishes, do not forget about the high salt content in them, which will affect the taste of cooked dishes. It is likely that some of them will not need to be salted at all.

Storage rules

Most pickles are almost immediately placed in the cellar or, as a last resort, on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, however, the latter solution can be considered appropriate only with a small number of blanks. The ideal storage temperature in both situations is considered to be + 1 ... + 6 ° C. If there are no opportunities for long-term storage of salted tomatoes, then they can be preserved.After five days in a brine, it is drained, and the fruits themselves and all the green condiments used with them are washed with warm water. In this form, they are placed in clean jars, and the previously drained brine is brought to a boil. At the end of the procedure, the tomatoes laid in jars need to be poured with ready brine and rolled up. Of course, the shelf life of rolled pickles will be much longer than the shelf life of vegetables in a bucket.

Useful Tips

For beginners, even the simplest pickling process can be a difficult task, but over time, every housewife will notice some nuances that make it much easier.

The most common recommendations for the preparation of such blanks include the following:

• if you want the process of pickling tomatoes to go faster, you need to make a cross-shaped incision at the base of the fruits;
• for greater aroma of the workpiece, it is desirable to pre-dry the dill and parsley, so that in the process of salting they will reveal their full aromatic potential;
• the fruits of ripe and soft varieties of tomatoes are preferably salted in containers with a volume of not more than 50 liters, and solid or green tomatoes in wooden barrels;
• so as not to mash ripe fruits, they are obligatorily laid out in layers, each of which must be covered with leaves of cherry, horseradish, currant, basil, dill and other herbs;
• the optimum salting time is 2 weeks, after which it is advisable to transfer the tomatoes to another clean container or roll them into jars for longer storage.

In fact, pickling tomatoes in buckets is the easiest way to harvest them for the winter, and in order for the vegetables to be tasty, aromatic and preserve their qualities for a long time, you need to control the process, avoiding the appearance of mold. Any of these recipes can guarantee you a wonderful winter snack, so we recommend that you try each of them in turn.