Homemade secrets: The art of preserving cucumber soup's flavour

It is most often made in the summer with a light broth and freshly grated pickled cucumbers. Conversely, it is cooked with broth in the colder months and uses "stock" cucumbers. To speed up dinner preparation, I always prepare cucumber purée for winter. My grandmother showed me the best trick for this.

The refreshing taste and rich ingredients make cucumber soup an ideal dish for any occasion. The base is pickled cucumbers, but the form in which we add them to the pot is equally important. When I have more time, I simply grate them before cooking, but I prefer to be prepared ahead of time for quick cooking. For this, jars of homemade purée come in handy. What is the secret?

Jarred supplies are the best way to preserve the taste of seasonal products. At the same time, it is a way to prepare homemade semi-products that speed up cooking cucumber soup. The first step is to prepare classic pickled cucumbers. For their preparation, I always use fresh dill, garlic cloves, horseradish root and leaves, as well as—if I have them on hand—currant leaves and cherry leaves. After properly pickling, just grate them on a vegetable grater, leaving the juice that may come from them. Then, just make sure to secure them well to prevent mould.

I transfer the grated cucumbers to sterilised jars, pouring a small amount of juice into them. I close them with well-dried lids. I place them in a pot with boiling water (up to about four-fifths of the height of the jars in water) and boil for 10 minutes. After this time, I turn them upside down, cover them with a cloth, and wait until they cool down. I label the pasteurised jars and place them in the pantry. With this addition, my cucumber soup tastes just like Grandma's!