Do you know what to do if a jar of cucumbers becomes cloudy? Why cucumbers in jars become cloudy, canned cucumbers, what to do.

The buildings 21.10.2019
The buildings

Probably, every family has its own signature recipe for pickled or pickled cucumbers. And every housewife is sure that it is according to her recipe that they turn out to be the most delicious and crispy. But even for the most experienced and skillful pickle in a jar can lose transparency. What to do if the cucumbers become cloudy, should they be sent to the bin?

Is it possible to eat cucumbers from cloudy brine?

If all the stages of harvesting are completed correctly and the lids are not swollen, and the brine is cloudy, this only means that fermentation has begun, during which lactic acid is formed. This often happens with salted vegetables, and not pickled, that is, with those for which vinegar is not added.

Lactic acid is a natural preservative, and it is also very useful for the human body. It improves blood circulation, lowers blood pressure and controls blood fat levels. Thus, if a precipitate appears, but the lid is intact and there are no air bubbles in the liquid, the product can be eaten.

If the water is cloudy and the lid is swollen, such vegetables, unfortunately, cannot be saved. A swollen or already torn off lid can be a sign of the presence of botulism bacteria. Of course, this cannot be determined without laboratory tests. But is it worth the risk if there is a chance of contracting such a dangerous disease?

What to do with a cloudy jar of cucumbers?

Even if the hostess knows that it is quite acceptable to eat the workpiece, she may wonder what to do if the pickle in the cucumbers has become cloudy. Is it possible to somehow return them to their previous state or interfere with unwanted processes? Experienced housewives advise rearranging the jars from a cool place so that all the dregs settle to the bottom. Such cucumbers, most likely, will no longer crunch pleasantly, but they will not cause any harm to the body either.

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In vegetables preserved in vinegar, the likelihood of milk fungus formation is much less. But, it may also happen that pickled cucumbers become cloudy. What to do in this case? There are several options.

  • Roll out, cover with a nylon lid and leave for a couple of days in a cool place. This way you get lightly salted cucumbers, ready to eat.
  • Open and roll up again. The water must be drained and boiled, vegetables and spices should be washed and put into re-sterilized jars.

The most reliable way to save the product is to prepare a new marinade by increasing the amount of vinegar. In this case, cucumbers should be washed and poured with boiling water 2-3 times. It is desirable to replace greens and spices with fresh ones.

  • If the cloudy fruits have already salted enough, but turned out to be soft, tasteless or too sour, this is not at all a reason to throw them away. You can significantly improve their taste if you pour tomato juice and leave for three days at room temperature. This method corrects even the most hopeless specimens, the cucumbers will become crispy and very tasty.

Why blanks lose transparency?


Why did the cucumbers become cloudy and what should be done to avoid similar situations in the future? In the process of conservation, there are many nuances and rules, the violation of which can lead to such unpleasant consequences as damage to the product. In most cases, this happens precisely because of a violation of technology. Here are the most common canning mistakes.

  • Vegetables, herbs, spices or jars were not washed well. Particles of dirt and dust can contribute to the development of the rotting process in an already rolled product.
  • presence of nitrates. Of course, ideally, for seaming, you should take cucumbers grown by caring summer residents, but in the realities of a big city this is not always possible. When choosing vegetables, try to at least buy them during the high season, that is, at the end of June and July. Take fruits of medium size, dark green color, dense, crispy.

Before starting the pickling process, be sure to leave the cucumbers in cold water for several hours, and preferably overnight. Such a simple process will not only remove nitrates, but also make vegetables more crispy.

  • For preservation, sea or iodized salt was used. It is certainly more useful than ordinary cooking, but it is completely unsuitable for salting. First, sodium chloride in its pure form is an ideal preservative, and various additives worsen the preservative properties. Secondly, iodine can give vegetables an unpleasant aftertaste, and also disrupts the fermentation process, which can cause the lid to swell and become cloudy. In addition, vegetables marinated in iodine-fortified salt will not be crispy and may taste bitter.
  • Jars and lids were sterilized incorrectly or not at all. Now, in many preservation recipes, it is advised not to subject the container to such processing - supposedly it is enough to thoroughly rinse it and fill it with hot brine. However, this only makes sense if you are confident in the quality of the products and make the marinade with a lot of vinegar. For seaming vegetables without adding it, sterilization is required.
  • The seal was broken. Containers for seaming should be chosen without chips and cracks, the lids should be new. It should also be taken into account that a crack could form during sterilization or pasteurization. To avoid this, observe the temperature regime, that is, do not pour hot brine on cold dishes and do not place hot jars on cool surfaces.

How to prevent the appearance of "suspicious" sediment?


  • A large amount of spices and herbs can provoke the appearance of a cloudy sediment in seamings.
  • Do not fill jars too tightly. During conservation, the fermentation process will occur, and if there is not enough space for this, the water may become cloudy and even rip off the lids.
  • To keep the brine transparent, you can use one trick. After the fruits and spices are packed into jars, they need to be poured twice with boiling water and only then with marinade. This process will take longer, but the chances are significantly increased that lactic acid will not begin to form.
  • Cucumbers rolled together with bell peppers do not become cloudy and have a piquant taste.
  • After spinning, the jars must be turned upside down and left to cool completely in heat. Better yet, wrap them in a blanket. Firstly, the method will allow you to immediately notice the lack of tightness. And secondly, due to the fact that the jar will cool slowly, it will undergo additional heat treatment.

Food preservation- it is economical, prudent and simply delicious. You can roll everything into jars: vegetables, fruits, drinks and even meat, but it's hard to come up with something even more common than jar of cucumbers. It is full of delicious salty snacks and valuable brine.

The biggest deceit that can be expected from canned cucumbers is their spoilage, which is accompanied by the explosion of the can and an unpleasant smell. So, a whole party can “explode”, and there will be no strength or inspiration left for the second. The editors will tell you how to save cloudy cucumbers "With taste".

What to do if cucumbers become cloudy

To begin with, let's look at the reasons due to which the fermentation process can begin, which leads to spoilage. This will help you avoid future situations. missing cucumbers.

The first and main reason cucumber fermentation- ingress of soil and other debris that may contain bacteria. To prevent this from happening, soak the cucumbers for several hours (four will be enough) in water, and then clean them with a brush.

The second, no less popular reason is air ingress at sunset. This can happen if the cans are not rolled up tightly. To know for sure if you're right rolled up the banks, after twisting, turn them upside down and make sure that they do not leak.

There are three more nuances: sterilization, variety and recipe. Banks are a must sterilize and lids too. Sometimes the cause of fermentation lies in the wrong proportions, so you need to follow the recipe. Also remember about the variety: salad cucumbers are not suitable for conservation.

Subject to all these rules, no damage should occur, but sometimes it may simply be unlucky, and some kind of bacterium will slip under the lid. So, the liquid in the jar starts to become cloudy, what to do? Here are 3 ways save the harvest.


Pickled cucumbers are a pleasure for the whole year, and you can add them to a variety of dishes, such as salads or. No turbidity of the brine will stand in the way of a true connoisseur of cucumbers. Do you know other ways to save them?

A problem that often arises during conservation raises a natural, self-evident question - why do cucumbers get cloudy? Or rather pickle-marinade. After all, it’s a pity not only for the time spent and your own work, but also for various pickling pickles, so useful and desirable in the cold season. Having spent so much effort on blanks, naturally I want to find out what mistakes were made! In the process of solving the problem posed, other uncertainties also appear: what is the root cause, how to avoid this fact when harvesting subsequent seams, and in general, is it possible to eat such cloudy snacks? Even if the taste remains unchanged; but appetizing and attractive appearance is also important.

First of all, it is worth giving an answer to the last question: are greens in a cloudy filling good for food? Here, the twist formula used is of decisive importance. That is, what method was used. For example, if they were prepared with other preservatives of a similar kind, then the liquid in the jars must certainly remain transparent and “clean”. Turbidity of the solution, the appearance of a cloudy precipitate indicates a violation of culinary technology.

If this is salting and no “foreign” acid is applicable in this case, then the brine should become cloudy after a few days from the moment it was closed. This transformation is associated with the appearance of lactic acid in the jars, which promotes fermentation. Therefore, it is natural to get delicious pickled cucumbers in a rather cloudy brine as a result.

Sediment on vegetables can be rinsed before serving; although over time it will mostly sink to the bottom. Thus, having analyzed the above, if the original recipe is unknown and it is impossible to determine by eye what is in the jars: mold or lactic acid, then it is better to refuse to eat snacks!


And now it is necessary to understand the essence of the problem posed initially! Firstly, the most important reason is violations of the technology being performed. It is, of course, purity! It should be in everything: both in the original products and in the dishes used. Cucumbers and selected spices are subjected to wet processing, glass containers and seaming lids are also washed out and additionally sterilized.


Fresh green cucumbers are prepared for a cold, fairly common salting method. The fruits are washed with diligence, doused with a steep pitch and instantly dipped into ice water (you can even with pieces of ice). So they are soaked for 3-4 hours, and after that they are densely placed in a jar of large displacement, laying a whole garlic, fragrant leaves, dill umbrellas and sweet peas between the vegetables. All this is poured with a salty cool solution prepared in the ratio: per liter of water - 50 g of rock salt. Plus, a couple of tablespoons of vodka is poured into it, and the container is closed with tight nylon lids.

Vegetables salted in this way are transferred immediately after cooking to a cold room (refrigerator, cellar, etc.). Zelentsy after processing remain a beautiful color, retaining their natural, but acquire an original, pleasant aftertaste. To maintain the balance of the recipe and then not resent - Why is pickle pickle cloudy?, you need to take the following ingredients: 2 kilos of cucumbers, 2 dill umbrellas, 5 leaves of cherries and black currants, 1 garlic clove, 20 g of horseradish (root or leaves), 8 grains of black pepper, 1.5 liters of water, 50 g of vodka, 75 sh coarse salt.

Oak leaves have a very good effect on crispness. They also hold the density of vegetables, and in general act as a wonderful preservative. Therefore, as an option, do it by replacing them with cherry and blackcurrant. Or a good option for culinary creativity would be grape young light sheets.


Recipe 3

Putting large cucumbers on salads, medium ones on pickles, but small ones and gherkins are perfect for marinades. So, freshly picked greens are washed out; if the crop is harvested yesterday, then it will certainly be soaked in cold water and for at least 2 hours. By the number of vegetables, as many are selected as will fit in a three-liter jar. In the meantime, they are soaking, other necessary ingredients are being prepared: a small onion and a carrot, 4 garlic cloves, 9 tsp. sugar sand, 5 tsp rock salt with a small slide, a couple of sprigs or dill umbrellas, 10 black peppercorns, 5 cloves, 80 ml of otsta.

So that problems do not arise later and the thought does not torment Why does the brine in pickled cucumbers become cloudy”, all jars are thoroughly washed, and then turned over and the water is given the opportunity to drain. With drying, you can not bother; products will still drop wet processed products. Dill umbrellas, sliced ​​carrots, onion half rings and peeled garlic are lowered into the container. Cucumbers after soaking are rinsed once more, the tips are cut off from them, and the fruits are laid tightly in containers.

Water boils. Zelentsy is poured with it to the edge of the neck of the jar, covered with lids, boiled in advance, and aged for 15-18 minutes. Then the lids are removed, the water is drained and sugar-salt is poured into it. The liquid is brought to a boil. All this time, the container must be covered with lids. Spices are added to the vegetables and ocet is added directly to the seaming dish. Finally, the boiling marinade is poured in, and the preservation is hermetically sealed. Unlike, seaming upside down should stand until it cools.


Turbidity provokes lactic acid fermentation or lack of citric or octa acid, non-compliance with the rules of so-called hygiene and violation of technology. Therefore, in order to avoid damage to the blanks, it is necessary to strictly follow the time-tested and proven recipe! The described, completely uncomplicated measures will help protect homemade cucumber preparations from cloudiness, and consumers will be able to enjoy a great snack in the purest brine, like a tear, for several years.

Well, finally, the summer season is over, and the shelves in the basement or cellar, densely filled with jars of home preservation, have become a pleasant result of summer work. Unfortunately, after some time, you suddenly notice that the brine in pickled cucumbers in some containers has become cloudy. And from one jar, even the lid was torn off due to fermentation. But so much work, time and effort was invested in the cooking process! What could be the reason? Surely in this article you will find answers to your questions.

The first reason why the brine in cucumbers becomes cloudy: insufficient sterility of jars and purity of products

At first, it is worth considering how correct the technology for pre-treatment of cans is. Many housewives limit themselves to washing glass containers with hot water using baking soda. However, it will be more reliable to additionally sterilize empty cans. The easiest option is to place them on a special stand over boiling water in a saucepan. Five minutes of warming up will be enough. You can also sterilize jars in the oven or microwave. Also take care of a good wash of all components used, from cucumbers to spices (horseradish leaves, dill "umbrellas", etc.).

Reason two: the brine in the jars is cloudy due to poor sterilization or sealing

Hot processing of preservation can take place in two ways. In the first option, jars filled with products are sterilized by placing them in boiling water for a while. With insufficient time, microbes can remain inside the containers, which subsequently cause the brine to become cloudy. The second method, often used in practice, is to repeatedly fill the products in a jar with a boiling solution. It is recommended to carry out three times hot working, observing the required time interval between each stage. Therefore, insufficiently heated cucumbers usually become cloudy and wander in jars. Also, the reason why the brine becomes cloudy may be in poorly closed lids with a leak. Perhaps the point lies in the breakdown of the clogging machine or the damaged neck of the jar.

The third reason why the brine in cucumbers becomes cloudy: the wrong ingredients for the marinade are taken

Do you always strictly follow the recipe or take the components for preservation "by eye"? It is especially important to observe the correct proportions of vinegar or acid. After all, it is these ingredients that ensure the safety of products for a long time. Also consider the quality of the salt. Iodized usually always gives a whitish precipitate.

The fourth reason why the brine in cucumbers becomes cloudy: the choice of a vegetable variety

It turns out that this moment also means a lot. After all, some varieties of cucumbers are intended only for fresh use. And when preserved, they become hollow inside, which causes a change in the color of the liquid in the jars.

The fifth reason why the brine in cucumbers becomes cloudy: incorrect storage conditions

Winter blanks should not be left for more than two or three days at room temperature. The most favorable temperature conditions for storage rooms are from 2 to 7 degrees Celsius. Therefore, immediately after cooling, the jars are placed in the basement or cellar.

Under all conditions, you will not have unpleasant surprises after examining stocks prepared for the winter.

It's a shame when pickles, canned with one's own hand, become cloudy, boil and tear off the clogged lids on the jars. Do not get upset and do not rush to throw away cucumbers. We will tell you how to reanimate the workpiece, and at the same time we will figure out why such a failure occurred.

Why do cucumbers grow cloudy in jars - check

The first thing to do with cloudy cucumbers is to determine their edibility.

  • Remove the lid from the jar and smell it. It doesn’t smell like mold - feel free to try the brine and if it is spicy-salty without a bitter aftertaste - these cucumbers can be saved.

For your information: the cucumbers are covered with a white coating, the lid is swollen, and unpleasant sourness is kicking out of the jar in the nose - throw everything away without hesitation.

  • Is there any uncertainty? Take out the gherkin - it is not slippery, hard to the touch and crunches deliciously (couldn't resist, took a bite)? Move on to recovery procedures.

Why do cucumbers grow cloudy in jars - reasons

Cloudiness of the marinade can occur for several reasons:

  • the glass container is poorly washed. Take your time preparing the blanks. Wash jars with lids thoroughly in soapy water and sterilize them for at least five minutes;
  • incorrect prescription. It is possible that you put less salt in the water than indicated in the recipe or reduced the amount of preservative (when pickling);
  • variety incompatibility. Most often, lettuce cucumbers explode, not pickled varieties, so be careful when harvesting or buying on the market - do not confuse the types of gherkins;
  • improper storage. Keep all blanks in a cool place at a temperature not exceeding 5 ° C. Ideally - in the cellar or basement, but you can also on the balcony.


Why do cucumbers grow cloudy in jars - re-canning

It doesn’t matter which cucumbers you have become cloudy: made with simple salting or pickled, re-preservation is the same in both cases.

  • Drain the brine. Pour the boiled water over the gherkins, rinse them with your hands in a jar, then throw out the liquid.
  • Prepare a new marinade - add salt, spices and, if necessary, sugar, to boiling water.
  • Pour the cucumbers with the resulting solution, put 0.5 tsp on top. citric acid (calculation for 1.5 liters of brine) and let stand for two minutes. As soon as the cucumbers begin to change color, roll up the jar and turn the finished product over.


Why do cucumbers grow cloudy in jars - urgent measures

Many summer residents use their own methods of rescuing cloudy cucumbers. Check them out, you may find them useful:

  • pierce a hole in the lid of the jar with an awl. Wait for the air to come down and seal the hole with melted wax (drip from a candle) or a band-aid;
  • pour a generous pinch of salt on the swollen lid (with a puncture) and it will lower and the solution will become clear;
  • use cucumbers to prepare pickle, azu, hodgepodge, you will not regret it - it will turn out delicious;


  • pour into the brine 2 tbsp. l. vodka, and put a plastic lid on top.


To summarize: when preserving cucumbers, follow the recipe, do not neglect the preparatory stage, and crispy cucumbers will be your reward for hard work.

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