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India’s pickle people: Decades-old culinary heirlooms, nostalgia

238 points by nkurz 3y ago

dwighttk 3y ago
I had pickled lemon soda at a pho place once and while I can’t say I liked it I do have very compelling flashbacks and cravings for it… unfortunately that place closed.
bingemaker 3y ago
Those ceramic jars are some of the beautiful creations on earth
resolutebat 3y ago
Fascinating! Are there any other countries with traditions of intentionally aged "vintage" pickles?
- tap-snap-or-nap 3y ago
  Korean Kimchi making shares a similar process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimjang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimjang
- sidkshatriya 3y ago
  Aging food in a pickling medium/paste for taste and/or preservation is quite common globally. Wikipedia as usual provides a nice overview https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickling
- riffic 3y ago
  lactofermentation is an ancient and widespread practice.
- ahoka 3y ago
  Not pickles, but if your family makes jam in Hungary, then it’s not unusual to have a few jars of decades old ones, made by a long dead relative. We have a 20 year old plum jam we recently brought from the country house’s pantry.
  - curl-up 3y ago
    True across Balkans. There are some fruits (e.g. apricots) which have a highly variable yield from year to year, so eating a 5+ year old jam (from a year with exceptionally high yield) is not strange.
deleted 3y ago
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profsummergig 3y ago
For the Non-Indians looking at the pictures and scratching their heads: I want to clarify that the Indian concept of pickle is nothing like (say) the American concept (cucumber cut lengthwise, in vinegar, in a bottle, at the grocery store). I don't know if there's a global equivalent to the Indian pickle. But the Indian pickle is a very-highly spiced, cured in oil concoction (primarily consisting of fruits and vegetables, with around 50% of the total mass being spices and oil). For the poor or rich alike it's a great thing to have. The poor because it adds a blast of flavor to otherwise bland carbs (rice / wheat). There were poor people in India (back when I lived there) who could afford nothing but plain rice as their meal. If they had pickle, it still made a tasty meal. I'm told that this sort of extreme poverty is now a thing of the past. I hope it's true.
- goku12 3y ago
  There are spiced pickles available in the western world (spiced olives in oil, as an example) - though it may not be as spicy or oily as Indian pickles. Kimchi is a distant but somewhat similar take. Indian pickles too are allowed to ferment a little at times (not the really old variety shown in the article). India also has its own version of American pickles (veggies deep-preserved in brine) - but they are usually not called pickles outside of supermarkets.
- xbmcuser 3y ago
  in the past the world did not have fridges and freezers. So anything that would spoil was made into pickles/aachar it had less to do with being poor and more with being able to preserve food for longer. Farms in the west make jams marmalade of fruits not because they are poor but so they they can use their crops in the future.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > I don't know if there's a global equivalent to the Indian pickle Most old-world cultures have a spiced, fermented foodstuff. Japan, China and Korea, for example, are full of them. Many ingredients in modern Indian pickles were originally imported from the North Africa of antiquity. Even in America, the “classic” dill-pickled cucumber is a very small fraction of the fermented vegetable foods.
sidkshatriya 3y ago
Pickles almost always never look appetizing when photographed. But they taste great when eaten with food. For most pickles the taste is not hard to appreciate. I would say pickles are not necessarily an acquired taste because they can be quite approachable ! The extremely high salt, vinegar, lemon, oil, chilly, sugar content or other preservatives allow them to be consumed much after their initial production. Most pickles tend to be consumed within a few months. Some afficianados like really really old pickles (like vintage wine) but they don't constitute the bulk of production/consumption.
- satvikpendem 3y ago
  Pickles in general also don't look like this at all, no one is eating 75 year old shriveled up pickles, lol. They are fresh and bright red and are eaten over a few months, not over decades.
rhuru 3y ago
Indian pickles are not same as American pickles. Totally different concept. I come from the background where these pickles and many other things were passed down as family heirloom. It appears one of the china jars we used to store the pickle (raw mango) was from 1800s and one was from Spain. My family primarily did mango pickles and the oldest one I consumed was around 20 years old. There were 100s of varieties of mangoes each very distinct but around 4 specifically bred of pickle. We used fenugreek and coconut oil as some of the ingredients. Each year we made pickle of around 100 tiny raw mangoes and stored for future and passed on some old pickle to the friends and relatives (never sold it). I do not think in my region this was a big deal, most of the classic and wide variety of pickle seems to come from Rajasthan. Few other food items that were passed down over generations: 1. A bottle of alcohol. (Only used for medicinal purposes) this was around 200 years old and purchased from a sailor from Portugal. It was an extremely powerful Cashew fruit distilled alchohol. 2. A very weird kind of gourd. This was fucking far too old. I mean older than my great grandmother and which she brought as dowry from her mother or something like that. I do no even know why and how it was preserved but it supposedly had some medicinal properties and people often came to my grandmother with offers to buy it. Eventually someone stole it.
- anoncow 3y ago
  You are right. Additionally, there are varieties of Indian pickles which use a similar technique as used in the US. In South India, some vegetables (for e.g., Indian gooseberry) are pickled in brine like the US does.
  - rhuru 3y ago
    Yes, we use to make that as well with raw tender mangoes. We called it pressed mangoes in brine and was not considered as "achar" or pickle. https://www.facebook.com/Ranchikood/photos/khalatli-amli-raw-mango-in-brine-the-perfect-accompaniment-for-pez-method-1-remo/1723069301243041/ https://www.facebook.com/Ranchikood/photos/khalatli-amli-raw...
- blackoil 3y ago
  > A bottle of alcohol. (Only used for medicinal purposes) this was around 200 years old and purchased from a sailor from Portugal. It was an extremely powerful Cashew fruit distilled alcohol. Sure at no time some curious teenager nipped that off and replaced it with some local tadi? I would have done that.
beebeepka 3y ago
Wow, 27 year old open pickle jars! I expected canned food but not like this. I really should visit India before I grow too old. There's so much veggie food to try. Recently met a childhood friend who, apparently, used to live there for decade. No he has a small Indian restaurant serving food that is nothing like the places I have been to in Europe and the UK. No garlic, no onions (I like both), etc. Love it
- wtmt 3y ago
  > No garlic, no onions, etc. The no garlic and no onion are part of a much broader practice to avoid root vegetables. Anything that grows below the ground is not consumed. Jains (the people who follow Jainism) mostly follow this (I say “mostly” because even though they’re supposed to, many may not). Orthodox Hindus may also follow similar practices. Hindu festivals and rituals also avoid onion and garlic. There’s a lot more to say than can be contained in a comment. You can read about Jain food and Sattvic food to know more.
  - raffraffraff 3y ago
    I once read that hing (asafoetida) is used instead of garlic for that reason.
- phanimahesh 3y ago
  No garlic and no onions are standard prescriptions for hindu priestly folk. Orthodox folks follow it religiously. Many these days follow it only in festivals and other holy days. Also, like sibling comment says, jainism prescribes avoiding everything growing underground and you can ask for jain food if a place provides it. Some airlines make special affordances and have a jain meal option you can try.
eigenket 3y ago
For anyone who has had their appetite whet for Indian pickles, the book Midnight's Children has pickles as an important secondary plot point, and the vivid description of the pickles in that book have stayed with me for a long time.
- dilawar 3y ago
  "The god of small things" as well.
- jfk13 3y ago
  Very much so. Midnight's Children was the first thing that sprang to mind, as soon as I saw the title! (See also https://books.openedition.org/pufr/3813?lang=en https://books.openedition.org/pufr/3813?lang=en "Midnight's Children or the Pickles of History")
satvikpendem 3y ago
I make pickles like these, but I've never seen them that old. Generally we make them and eat them within several months, then make more. Mango pickle is my favorite as it has just the right spiciness, while lemon pickles are often too sour for my taste. If you want to try them, they are usually at your local Indian grocery store. These pickles are mainly eaten with rice or dishes like dosas and idlis, often when you have nothing else at home to eat, as it provides a quick and cheap meal, combining carbs with some flavor as to not make them bland. They are also quite good in yogurt rice to provide some spice.
- spaceman_2020 3y ago
  To add: if you are buying them from a store, you will need to try multiple brands before you find the one that’s right for you. Unlike western-style pickles, the taste can vary very wildly across brands.
  - halostatue 3y ago
    Oh yes. My personal go-tos are Shan and Deep (I really like the Shan garlic pickle and the Deep lemon and lime pickles; they both make competent mixed achar). If I can’t find either of those, I will settle for Patak's over other brands I have not tried (there are some I have tried and Do Not Like).
    - raffraffraff 3y ago
      Pataks aubergine pickle is great though. One of the simplest ways I like it is spread on wholemeal toast, and topped with hummus. Bringing India and the middle east together on some bread. Their green chili pickle is decent too. Edit: I'd actually take those two Pataks versions over the Shan equivalent.
      - selimthegrim 3y ago
        Patak’s will do in a pinch if there’s nothing else but I don’t like the smaller size of their jars and the lack of variety. I agree the Shan versions of those you cite are not particularly distinguished. They offer some unusual ones like lasora but for things like amla which are usually not pickled in Muslim community you are better off with another brand.
colordrops 3y ago
I've seem some studies on salted pickles potentially being carcinogenic, specifically causing stomach cancer. This is due to pathogens, n-nitroso, or carcinogenic enzymes in the pickles. The most commonly cited one is kimchi. I don't think the science is final though, and I did see another study that claimed they were only dangerous for those with h. pylori infections, and another that the consumption needs to be high. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4316045/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4316045/ https://www.buesingnaturopathic.com/fermented-vegetables-cancer/ https://www.buesingnaturopathic.com/fermented-vegetables-can...
Baeocystin 3y ago
Anyone have a recipe for the lemon they would enjoy sharing? I love pickle of all kinds, and my Meyers produce more fruit than I can handle, even sharing fresh lemons with friends. If I can also share some as preserves, that sounds like a fun way to continue the sharing.
- rmk 3y ago
  Here's one that will make you long-lasting pickle. It involves an initial set of steps, a 6-7 day wait, and then another set of steps followed by another 6-7 day wait until you can eat them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeR99HCIAPA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeR99HCIAPA You can get the specific types of dried red chillies from most Indian stores. Here's an 'instant pickle' recipe, in english: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRosfCOEpzA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRosfCOEpzA
  - Baeocystin 3y ago
    Thank you!
- yumraj 3y ago
  Lemon pickles fall into both sweet and non-sweet categories . I like the light sweet kind but the non-sweet is also good. You may want to try a few from Indian stores and then try making the one you like. I’ll also get an idea what it’ll look like. It turns dark brown, almost black with age.
indus 3y ago
I came to the US a decade ago—-brought a carefully sealed plastic bag of mango pickles in my checked luggage. It was “triple” packed because the oil will leak beyond the first layer! As recent as last month—-my sister-in-law shipped a small plastic jar of fat red chilies pickle to Bangalore which I then brought it to San Francisco via a United flight :-)
- indus 3y ago
  I no longer bring mango pickles from India——I started making it since 2022[0] San Francisco Bay Area Summer. [0] https://twitter.com/1ndus/status/1497310793964027908 https://twitter.com/1ndus/status/1497310793964027908
  - yumraj 3y ago
    Typically, at least in the North, mango pickle is made with green small desi mangoes which are rather sour. I haven’t seen those in the US. The only green mangoes I’ve seen are rather bland and not sour enough.
    - indus 3y ago
      our local store in the bay area has on and off supply of green mangoes. I do not know about the variety but it does the job. It is not as sour as the ones found in India.
phas0ruk 3y ago
I love this article! Thanks for sharing
mise_en_place 3y ago
Amla pickle is also delicious, my grandmother often used to make it.
rishabhd 3y ago
My father knew he had a year, or two at most, left. On a sunny day in May 2020, he bought green Kairi mangoes, pickled them, and passed on his recipe. He made three batches to last at least 5-7 years. He passed away from NAFLD in 2021, but we have his memories and his handmade flavorful pickle. RIP wherever you are, Pops.
- webmobdev 3y ago
  What a nice memory to have of him! If you don't mind, please share his recipe.
  - deleted 3y ago
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  - rishabhd 3y ago
    Well, as Keanu said "I know that the ones who love us, will miss us."; he was a good man. Here is his recipe. This is for a small batch (around 1 KG), you can scale this accordingly. Ingredients: 1) Raw mangoes (Kairi): 5-6; washed, dried, and cut (retain skin, discard seed) 2) Mustard oil: 1 cup 3) Fenugreek (Methi), Fennel (Saunf), Mustard, Coriander seeds: 2 tbsp each, roasted and powdered 4) Asafoetida (Hing): 1/2 tsp 5) Salt: 3 tbsp (or to taste) 6) Kalonji: 2 tbsp 7) Turmeric: 1 tbsp 8) Red chili powder: 2 tbsp Method: 1) Sterilise: Wash the jar and lid. Fill with water, boil for 5 minutes, then empty. Invert to dry. 2) Roast & Grind: Dry roast fenugreek, fennel, mustard, and coriander seeds. Let cool, then powder. 3) Mix: In a large bowl, combine mango pieces with spices, kalonji, chili powder, turmeric, asafoetida, and salt. 4) Oil: Heat mustard oil until it smokes, then cool to lukewarm. 5) Combine: Blend oil with the mango-spice mixture. 6) Store: Transfer the mixture to your sterilised jar. Ensure mangoes are submerged, adding more cooled oil if needed. 7) Ferment: Place the sealed jar in direct sunlight for a week. 8) Serve: Ready in a week. Always use a dry spoon for serving. Store at room temperature up to a year, ensuring no moisture enters.
yantrams 3y ago
I’m one of those savages who can finish a bottle of Indian pickle in one go. Even if my teeth start hurting because of the acidity, I still keep going at it by sucking on them. Nothing like a hyper concentrated dose of sourness explosion in your mouth.
dilawar 3y ago
Ah, the "achaar". So wrongly translated as "pickle". In my village (Ganges plain, North India), making achaar was a significant seasonal community event. When mangoes were small, we used to wait for heavy winds during early monsoon. A lot of raw mangoes would fall on the ground, and the next day they would be sold at a much cheaper price. There were two broad classes of mango varieties: one for eating ripe, and the other one for making achaar, which were usually very small, had large seeds, and were extremely sour when raw (and extremely sweet and full of fibers when ripe). The whole process would take a week or two: cutting raw mangoes, drying them, salting them, preparing masala, and putting them in a special jar. The last process requires special hands if you wanted your pickle to last a few years. There were a few women who were experts in putting pickle in jar and were highly sought after. Whoever had pickle that could last at least two years in the village without growing fungus belonged to this group. Some members of this famous group were from lower castes, and obviously, they were not allowed to physically touch the pickle. Instead, they would supervise from a very close distance. They would take a few pieces of mango mixed with masala and push them down the jar as hard as possible to remove all air. The slower and harder you push, the better. Once the jar was almost filled, it would be filled with mustard oil and crystal salt and then kept for at least 6 months. The older the pickle, the better it is! The achaar jar used to be the costliest pot in a house, usually a china pot. My contribution to this was introducing potassium permanganate as an extra layer to fight fungus. It is still known as "achaar powder" in the village. Things are very different now. The moisture content in new brick-concrete houses is not as high as it used to be in traditionally made houses. And much better quality jars are available, especially the airtight ones. I don't think many people now push the achaar as hard as they used to.
- hawk_ 3y ago
  > The last process requires special hands if you wanted your pickle to last a few years. Is that some code word for hygiene? I seem to remember that the concept of hygiene for making achaar (and for other kitchen matters) was codified in religious practices in my family/community.
  - boruto 3y ago
    Don't really think that is the case.
microflash 3y ago
Pickles are the traditional sendoff items in India. During my university days, my grandmom and mom would painstakingly curate mangoes to make pickles. A handsome batch would accompany me to the hostel where friends and foes would flock together to consume it with much fervour. Those pickles certainly pulled a lot of slack for the mess food.
denton-scratch 3y ago
No mention of lime pickle? I like lime pickle (sometimes), but I've never tasted lemon pickle. What's "citron"? Is that different from lemon?
- boomboomsubban 3y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citron It's different, less bitter? Dunno, I've only had it in things where it's hard to determine the flavor of the citron.
kumarvvr 3y ago
Yeah, this is not the western idea of Pickle. These are long lasting, chilli powder filled, Mustard powder based goodness, that is tasty throughout the year, filling and an absolute delight. There are so many fond memories of eating mango pickle with steaming hot rice, in the hot summers in my home. In every Indian Home (at least in the south that I know about), you will find at least a couple of these pickles stocked all the time. Mango, Tomato, Tamarind are very famous. Also, many westerners don't know about Powder delicacies, meant to be eaten with rice, dosas, idly, etc. I personally know atleast a dozen types of these powders. https://cookingfromheart.com/kandi-podi-andhra-special-paruppu-podi/ https://cookingfromheart.com/kandi-podi-andhra-special-parup... These are nutritious and absolutely delicious. Some hot rice with a pickle and a powder, capped off with curd rice is a wholesome meal when there is no time or you are too tired. A list of recipes https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/mango-pickle-recipe-andhra-avakaya/ https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/mango-pickle-recipe-andhra... https://cookingfromheart.com/magaya-pachadi/ https://cookingfromheart.com/magaya-pachadi/ https://www.gayatrivantillu.com/recipes-2/chutneys-and-aachars/chintakayapachhadi https://www.gayatrivantillu.com/recipes-2/chutneys-and-aacha... https://www.gayatrivantillu.com/recipes-2/chutneys-and-aachars/nimmakayauragaya https://www.gayatrivantillu.com/recipes-2/chutneys-and-aacha... https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/andhra-tomato-pickle-nilava-tomato-pachadi/ https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/andhra-tomato-pickle-ni...
- silverpepsi 3y ago
  Lol "famous"? Sorry I don't think a pickle can be famous but ya know different strokes.
  - solarengineer 3y ago
    Famous within India at least. There's a billion-plus people there.
  - kumarvvr 3y ago
    Famous in the sense that a Twinkie is "famous" in the US. Try to ban Mango Pickle in India, there would be riots on the streets !
  - 3y ago
dr_dshiv 3y ago
My mind is blown. I always thought of pickling as a very microbial phenomenon: “Probiotic pickles are a common myth, Krish said. “Probiotic means the presence of microbes. For a pickle to survive decades, it has to have zero microbes. When you pickle in salt or acids, all bacteria is killed,” he explained, adding that such pickles can be called postbiotic.”
sprkv5 3y ago
One of the underrated achaar is Ber ka Achaar or pickled Indian Jujube[1]. It is a perfect spicy blend of sweet, salty, sour and heat. It smells mouth-watering too and is very delectable - you can gorge on them on their own. These days you'd hardly find people who can make it as good as I used to get back in 00's decade. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziziphus_mauritiana https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziziphus_mauritiana
victor106 3y ago
When I was in Hyderabad,India some of my colleagues got me to taste homemade chicken and shrimp pickles. They were so good. but also ver spicy. I couldn't find it anywhere in the US or any other wester countries.
bakul 3y ago
My mom used to make a variety of achār (athāṇuṁ in Gujarati). Sour, sweet ones (made with unripe mangoes and they both had mustard & red pepper in oil), Chhundo (shredded unripe mangoes in sugar syrup & red pepper). These would be stored in white & light orange ceramic pots. But I don’t recall them lasting years and years! Lime as well as green pepper pickles were more seasonal. Also whole not quite ripe black peppers on their stem. The green pepper ones would get less hot over time but some could still be tongue burning hot. People who want to make their own pickles should first try readymade ones as they can be a bit of an acquired taste. You can get many kinds in most Indian stores (usually a at least a whole shelfful if not a whole aisle). Patak’s used to be the main one many years ago but now there are many more brands. My favorite is Patak’s brinjal (eggplant) pickle. You can even use some pickles as a sandwich spread! Or on crackers or lightly sautéed chapati or masala puri etc as a quick snack.
rmk 3y ago
There are also the 'sweet' pickles, murabba: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murabba https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murabba Don't know what they would be called in the west. I see 'preserves' often, but they seem to be closer relatives of jams than murabbas. Unlike jams, murabbas have a savory taste (much smaller than the overall sweet taste) element to them.
- RugnirViking 3y ago
  Hmmm. Marmalade perhaps? Chutney, or Confit
  - selimthegrim 3y ago
    Probably somewhere between chutney and preserves. Its slang usage, definitely accentuate the kitchen-sink /lots of things thrown together element to it, (“choon choon ke murabbe” is an affectionate term of abuse you shout at misbehaving children, at least in North of subcontinent, roughly “naughty little rascal/scamp”)
rickbradley 3y ago
Usha's Pickle Digest is a great resource for pickling recipes: https://a.co/d/cOPoPni https://a.co/d/cOPoPni There was a NYT writeup back in 2020: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/dining/indian-pickle-queen-usha-prabakaran.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/dining/indian-pickle-quee...
known 3y ago
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238 points by nkurz 3y ago

I had pickled lemon soda at a pho place once and while I can’t say I liked it I do have very compelling flashbacks and cravings for it… unfortunately that place closed.

bingemaker 3y ago

Those ceramic jars are some of the beautiful creations on earth

resolutebat 3y ago

Fascinating! Are there any other countries with traditions of intentionally aged "vintage" pickles?

tap-snap-or-nap 3y ago
Korean Kimchi making shares a similar process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimjang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimjang
sidkshatriya 3y ago
Aging food in a pickling medium/paste for taste and/or preservation is quite common globally. Wikipedia as usual provides a nice overview https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickling
riffic 3y ago
lactofermentation is an ancient and widespread practice.
ahoka 3y ago
Not pickles, but if your family makes jam in Hungary, then it’s not unusual to have a few jars of decades old ones, made by a long dead relative. We have a 20 year old plum jam we recently brought from the country house’s pantry.
- curl-up 3y ago
  True across Balkans. There are some fruits (e.g. apricots) which have a highly variable yield from year to year, so eating a 5+ year old jam (from a year with exceptionally high yield) is not strange.

deleted 3y ago

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profsummergig 3y ago

For the Non-Indians looking at the pictures and scratching their heads: I want to clarify that the Indian concept of pickle is nothing like (say) the American concept (cucumber cut lengthwise, in vinegar, in a bottle, at the grocery store). I don't know if there's a global equivalent to the Indian pickle. But the Indian pickle is a very-highly spiced, cured in oil concoction (primarily consisting of fruits and vegetables, with around 50% of the total mass being spices and oil). For the poor or rich alike it's a great thing to have. The poor because it adds a blast of flavor to otherwise bland carbs (rice / wheat). There were poor people in India (back when I lived there) who could afford nothing but plain rice as their meal. If they had pickle, it still made a tasty meal. I'm told that this sort of extreme poverty is now a thing of the past. I hope it's true.

goku12 3y ago
There are spiced pickles available in the western world (spiced olives in oil, as an example) - though it may not be as spicy or oily as Indian pickles. Kimchi is a distant but somewhat similar take. Indian pickles too are allowed to ferment a little at times (not the really old variety shown in the article). India also has its own version of American pickles (veggies deep-preserved in brine) - but they are usually not called pickles outside of supermarkets.
xbmcuser 3y ago
in the past the world did not have fridges and freezers. So anything that would spoil was made into pickles/aachar it had less to do with being poor and more with being able to preserve food for longer. Farms in the west make jams marmalade of fruits not because they are poor but so they they can use their crops in the future.
JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> I don't know if there's a global equivalent to the Indian pickle Most old-world cultures have a spiced, fermented foodstuff. Japan, China and Korea, for example, are full of them. Many ingredients in modern Indian pickles were originally imported from the North Africa of antiquity. Even in America, the “classic” dill-pickled cucumber is a very small fraction of the fermented vegetable foods.

sidkshatriya 3y ago

Pickles almost always never look appetizing when photographed. But they taste great when eaten with food. For most pickles the taste is not hard to appreciate. I would say pickles are not necessarily an acquired taste because they can be quite approachable ! The extremely high salt, vinegar, lemon, oil, chilly, sugar content or other preservatives allow them to be consumed much after their initial production. Most pickles tend to be consumed within a few months. Some afficianados like really really old pickles (like vintage wine) but they don't constitute the bulk of production/consumption.

satvikpendem 3y ago
Pickles in general also don't look like this at all, no one is eating 75 year old shriveled up pickles, lol. They are fresh and bright red and are eaten over a few months, not over decades.

rhuru 3y ago

Indian pickles are not same as American pickles. Totally different concept. I come from the background where these pickles and many other things were passed down as family heirloom. It appears one of the china jars we used to store the pickle (raw mango) was from 1800s and one was from Spain. My family primarily did mango pickles and the oldest one I consumed was around 20 years old. There were 100s of varieties of mangoes each very distinct but around 4 specifically bred of pickle. We used fenugreek and coconut oil as some of the ingredients. Each year we made pickle of around 100 tiny raw mangoes and stored for future and passed on some old pickle to the friends and relatives (never sold it). I do not think in my region this was a big deal, most of the classic and wide variety of pickle seems to come from Rajasthan. Few other food items that were passed down over generations: 1. A bottle of alcohol. (Only used for medicinal purposes) this was around 200 years old and purchased from a sailor from Portugal. It was an extremely powerful Cashew fruit distilled alchohol. 2. A very weird kind of gourd. This was fucking far too old. I mean older than my great grandmother and which she brought as dowry from her mother or something like that. I do no even know why and how it was preserved but it supposedly had some medicinal properties and people often came to my grandmother with offers to buy it. Eventually someone stole it.

anoncow 3y ago
You are right. Additionally, there are varieties of Indian pickles which use a similar technique as used in the US. In South India, some vegetables (for e.g., Indian gooseberry) are pickled in brine like the US does.
- rhuru 3y ago
  Yes, we use to make that as well with raw tender mangoes. We called it pressed mangoes in brine and was not considered as "achar" or pickle. https://www.facebook.com/Ranchikood/photos/khalatli-amli-raw-mango-in-brine-the-perfect-accompaniment-for-pez-method-1-remo/1723069301243041/ https://www.facebook.com/Ranchikood/photos/khalatli-amli-raw...
blackoil 3y ago
> A bottle of alcohol. (Only used for medicinal purposes) this was around 200 years old and purchased from a sailor from Portugal. It was an extremely powerful Cashew fruit distilled alcohol. Sure at no time some curious teenager nipped that off and replaced it with some local tadi? I would have done that.

beebeepka 3y ago

Wow, 27 year old open pickle jars! I expected canned food but not like this. I really should visit India before I grow too old. There's so much veggie food to try. Recently met a childhood friend who, apparently, used to live there for decade. No he has a small Indian restaurant serving food that is nothing like the places I have been to in Europe and the UK. No garlic, no onions (I like both), etc. Love it

wtmt 3y ago
> No garlic, no onions, etc. The no garlic and no onion are part of a much broader practice to avoid root vegetables. Anything that grows below the ground is not consumed. Jains (the people who follow Jainism) mostly follow this (I say “mostly” because even though they’re supposed to, many may not). Orthodox Hindus may also follow similar practices. Hindu festivals and rituals also avoid onion and garlic. There’s a lot more to say than can be contained in a comment. You can read about Jain food and Sattvic food to know more.
- raffraffraff 3y ago
  I once read that hing (asafoetida) is used instead of garlic for that reason.
phanimahesh 3y ago
No garlic and no onions are standard prescriptions for hindu priestly folk. Orthodox folks follow it religiously. Many these days follow it only in festivals and other holy days. Also, like sibling comment says, jainism prescribes avoiding everything growing underground and you can ask for jain food if a place provides it. Some airlines make special affordances and have a jain meal option you can try.

eigenket 3y ago

For anyone who has had their appetite whet for Indian pickles, the book Midnight's Children has pickles as an important secondary plot point, and the vivid description of the pickles in that book have stayed with me for a long time.

dilawar 3y ago
"The god of small things" as well.
jfk13 3y ago
Very much so. Midnight's Children was the first thing that sprang to mind, as soon as I saw the title! (See also https://books.openedition.org/pufr/3813?lang=en https://books.openedition.org/pufr/3813?lang=en "Midnight's Children or the Pickles of History")

satvikpendem 3y ago

I make pickles like these, but I've never seen them that old. Generally we make them and eat them within several months, then make more. Mango pickle is my favorite as it has just the right spiciness, while lemon pickles are often too sour for my taste. If you want to try them, they are usually at your local Indian grocery store. These pickles are mainly eaten with rice or dishes like dosas and idlis, often when you have nothing else at home to eat, as it provides a quick and cheap meal, combining carbs with some flavor as to not make them bland. They are also quite good in yogurt rice to provide some spice.

spaceman_2020 3y ago
To add: if you are buying them from a store, you will need to try multiple brands before you find the one that’s right for you. Unlike western-style pickles, the taste can vary very wildly across brands.
- halostatue 3y ago
  Oh yes. My personal go-tos are Shan and Deep (I really like the Shan garlic pickle and the Deep lemon and lime pickles; they both make competent mixed achar). If I can’t find either of those, I will settle for Patak's over other brands I have not tried (there are some I have tried and Do Not Like).
  - raffraffraff 3y ago
    Pataks aubergine pickle is great though. One of the simplest ways I like it is spread on wholemeal toast, and topped with hummus. Bringing India and the middle east together on some bread. Their green chili pickle is decent too. Edit: I'd actually take those two Pataks versions over the Shan equivalent.
    - selimthegrim 3y ago
      Patak’s will do in a pinch if there’s nothing else but I don’t like the smaller size of their jars and the lack of variety. I agree the Shan versions of those you cite are not particularly distinguished. They offer some unusual ones like lasora but for things like amla which are usually not pickled in Muslim community you are better off with another brand.

colordrops 3y ago

I've seem some studies on salted pickles potentially being carcinogenic, specifically causing stomach cancer. This is due to pathogens, n-nitroso, or carcinogenic enzymes in the pickles. The most commonly cited one is kimchi. I don't think the science is final though, and I did see another study that claimed they were only dangerous for those with h. pylori infections, and another that the consumption needs to be high. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4316045/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4316045/ https://www.buesingnaturopathic.com/fermented-vegetables-cancer/ https://www.buesingnaturopathic.com/fermented-vegetables-can...

Baeocystin 3y ago

Anyone have a recipe for the lemon they would enjoy sharing? I love pickle of all kinds, and my Meyers produce more fruit than I can handle, even sharing fresh lemons with friends. If I can also share some as preserves, that sounds like a fun way to continue the sharing.

rmk 3y ago
Here's one that will make you long-lasting pickle. It involves an initial set of steps, a 6-7 day wait, and then another set of steps followed by another 6-7 day wait until you can eat them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeR99HCIAPA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeR99HCIAPA You can get the specific types of dried red chillies from most Indian stores. Here's an 'instant pickle' recipe, in english: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRosfCOEpzA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRosfCOEpzA
- Baeocystin 3y ago
  Thank you!
yumraj 3y ago
Lemon pickles fall into both sweet and non-sweet categories . I like the light sweet kind but the non-sweet is also good. You may want to try a few from Indian stores and then try making the one you like. I’ll also get an idea what it’ll look like. It turns dark brown, almost black with age.

indus 3y ago

I came to the US a decade ago—-brought a carefully sealed plastic bag of mango pickles in my checked luggage. It was “triple” packed because the oil will leak beyond the first layer! As recent as last month—-my sister-in-law shipped a small plastic jar of fat red chilies pickle to Bangalore which I then brought it to San Francisco via a United flight :-)

indus 3y ago
I no longer bring mango pickles from India——I started making it since 2022[0] San Francisco Bay Area Summer. [0] https://twitter.com/1ndus/status/1497310793964027908 https://twitter.com/1ndus/status/1497310793964027908
- yumraj 3y ago
  Typically, at least in the North, mango pickle is made with green small desi mangoes which are rather sour. I haven’t seen those in the US. The only green mangoes I’ve seen are rather bland and not sour enough.
  - indus 3y ago
    our local store in the bay area has on and off supply of green mangoes. I do not know about the variety but it does the job. It is not as sour as the ones found in India.

phas0ruk 3y ago

I love this article! Thanks for sharing

mise_en_place 3y ago

Amla pickle is also delicious, my grandmother often used to make it.

rishabhd 3y ago

My father knew he had a year, or two at most, left. On a sunny day in May 2020, he bought green Kairi mangoes, pickled them, and passed on his recipe. He made three batches to last at least 5-7 years. He passed away from NAFLD in 2021, but we have his memories and his handmade flavorful pickle. RIP wherever you are, Pops.

webmobdev 3y ago
What a nice memory to have of him! If you don't mind, please share his recipe.
- deleted 3y ago
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- deleted 3y ago
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- rishabhd 3y ago
  Well, as Keanu said "I know that the ones who love us, will miss us."; he was a good man. Here is his recipe. This is for a small batch (around 1 KG), you can scale this accordingly. Ingredients: 1) Raw mangoes (Kairi): 5-6; washed, dried, and cut (retain skin, discard seed) 2) Mustard oil: 1 cup 3) Fenugreek (Methi), Fennel (Saunf), Mustard, Coriander seeds: 2 tbsp each, roasted and powdered 4) Asafoetida (Hing): 1/2 tsp 5) Salt: 3 tbsp (or to taste) 6) Kalonji: 2 tbsp 7) Turmeric: 1 tbsp 8) Red chili powder: 2 tbsp Method: 1) Sterilise: Wash the jar and lid. Fill with water, boil for 5 minutes, then empty. Invert to dry. 2) Roast & Grind: Dry roast fenugreek, fennel, mustard, and coriander seeds. Let cool, then powder. 3) Mix: In a large bowl, combine mango pieces with spices, kalonji, chili powder, turmeric, asafoetida, and salt. 4) Oil: Heat mustard oil until it smokes, then cool to lukewarm. 5) Combine: Blend oil with the mango-spice mixture. 6) Store: Transfer the mixture to your sterilised jar. Ensure mangoes are submerged, adding more cooled oil if needed. 7) Ferment: Place the sealed jar in direct sunlight for a week. 8) Serve: Ready in a week. Always use a dry spoon for serving. Store at room temperature up to a year, ensuring no moisture enters.

yantrams 3y ago

I’m one of those savages who can finish a bottle of Indian pickle in one go. Even if my teeth start hurting because of the acidity, I still keep going at it by sucking on them. Nothing like a hyper concentrated dose of sourness explosion in your mouth.

dilawar 3y ago

Ah, the "achaar". So wrongly translated as "pickle". In my village (Ganges plain, North India), making achaar was a significant seasonal community event. When mangoes were small, we used to wait for heavy winds during early monsoon. A lot of raw mangoes would fall on the ground, and the next day they would be sold at a much cheaper price. There were two broad classes of mango varieties: one for eating ripe, and the other one for making achaar, which were usually very small, had large seeds, and were extremely sour when raw (and extremely sweet and full of fibers when ripe). The whole process would take a week or two: cutting raw mangoes, drying them, salting them, preparing masala, and putting them in a special jar. The last process requires special hands if you wanted your pickle to last a few years. There were a few women who were experts in putting pickle in jar and were highly sought after. Whoever had pickle that could last at least two years in the village without growing fungus belonged to this group. Some members of this famous group were from lower castes, and obviously, they were not allowed to physically touch the pickle. Instead, they would supervise from a very close distance. They would take a few pieces of mango mixed with masala and push them down the jar as hard as possible to remove all air. The slower and harder you push, the better. Once the jar was almost filled, it would be filled with mustard oil and crystal salt and then kept for at least 6 months. The older the pickle, the better it is! The achaar jar used to be the costliest pot in a house, usually a china pot. My contribution to this was introducing potassium permanganate as an extra layer to fight fungus. It is still known as "achaar powder" in the village. Things are very different now. The moisture content in new brick-concrete houses is not as high as it used to be in traditionally made houses. And much better quality jars are available, especially the airtight ones. I don't think many people now push the achaar as hard as they used to.

hawk_ 3y ago
> The last process requires special hands if you wanted your pickle to last a few years. Is that some code word for hygiene? I seem to remember that the concept of hygiene for making achaar (and for other kitchen matters) was codified in religious practices in my family/community.
- boruto 3y ago
  Don't really think that is the case.

microflash 3y ago

Pickles are the traditional sendoff items in India. During my university days, my grandmom and mom would painstakingly curate mangoes to make pickles. A handsome batch would accompany me to the hostel where friends and foes would flock together to consume it with much fervour. Those pickles certainly pulled a lot of slack for the mess food.

denton-scratch 3y ago

No mention of lime pickle? I like lime pickle (sometimes), but I've never tasted lemon pickle. What's "citron"? Is that different from lemon?

boomboomsubban 3y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citron It's different, less bitter? Dunno, I've only had it in things where it's hard to determine the flavor of the citron.

kumarvvr 3y ago

Yeah, this is not the western idea of Pickle. These are long lasting, chilli powder filled, Mustard powder based goodness, that is tasty throughout the year, filling and an absolute delight. There are so many fond memories of eating mango pickle with steaming hot rice, in the hot summers in my home. In every Indian Home (at least in the south that I know about), you will find at least a couple of these pickles stocked all the time. Mango, Tomato, Tamarind are very famous. Also, many westerners don't know about Powder delicacies, meant to be eaten with rice, dosas, idly, etc. I personally know atleast a dozen types of these powders. https://cookingfromheart.com/kandi-podi-andhra-special-paruppu-podi/ https://cookingfromheart.com/kandi-podi-andhra-special-parup... These are nutritious and absolutely delicious. Some hot rice with a pickle and a powder, capped off with curd rice is a wholesome meal when there is no time or you are too tired. A list of recipes https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/mango-pickle-recipe-andhra-avakaya/ https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/mango-pickle-recipe-andhra... https://cookingfromheart.com/magaya-pachadi/ https://cookingfromheart.com/magaya-pachadi/ https://www.gayatrivantillu.com/recipes-2/chutneys-and-aachars/chintakayapachhadi https://www.gayatrivantillu.com/recipes-2/chutneys-and-aacha... https://www.gayatrivantillu.com/recipes-2/chutneys-and-aachars/nimmakayauragaya https://www.gayatrivantillu.com/recipes-2/chutneys-and-aacha... https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/andhra-tomato-pickle-nilava-tomato-pachadi/ https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/andhra-tomato-pickle-ni...

silverpepsi 3y ago
Lol "famous"? Sorry I don't think a pickle can be famous but ya know different strokes.
- solarengineer 3y ago
  Famous within India at least. There's a billion-plus people there.
- kumarvvr 3y ago
  Famous in the sense that a Twinkie is "famous" in the US. Try to ban Mango Pickle in India, there would be riots on the streets !
- 3y ago

dr_dshiv 3y ago

My mind is blown. I always thought of pickling as a very microbial phenomenon: “Probiotic pickles are a common myth, Krish said. “Probiotic means the presence of microbes. For a pickle to survive decades, it has to have zero microbes. When you pickle in salt or acids, all bacteria is killed,” he explained, adding that such pickles can be called postbiotic.”

sprkv5 3y ago

One of the underrated achaar is Ber ka Achaar or pickled Indian Jujube[1]. It is a perfect spicy blend of sweet, salty, sour and heat. It smells mouth-watering too and is very delectable - you can gorge on them on their own. These days you'd hardly find people who can make it as good as I used to get back in 00's decade. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziziphus_mauritiana https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziziphus_mauritiana

victor106 3y ago

When I was in Hyderabad,India some of my colleagues got me to taste homemade chicken and shrimp pickles. They were so good. but also ver spicy. I couldn't find it anywhere in the US or any other wester countries.

bakul 3y ago

My mom used to make a variety of achār (athāṇuṁ in Gujarati). Sour, sweet ones (made with unripe mangoes and they both had mustard & red pepper in oil), Chhundo (shredded unripe mangoes in sugar syrup & red pepper). These would be stored in white & light orange ceramic pots. But I don’t recall them lasting years and years! Lime as well as green pepper pickles were more seasonal. Also whole not quite ripe black peppers on their stem. The green pepper ones would get less hot over time but some could still be tongue burning hot. People who want to make their own pickles should first try readymade ones as they can be a bit of an acquired taste. You can get many kinds in most Indian stores (usually a at least a whole shelfful if not a whole aisle). Patak’s used to be the main one many years ago but now there are many more brands. My favorite is Patak’s brinjal (eggplant) pickle. You can even use some pickles as a sandwich spread! Or on crackers or lightly sautéed chapati or masala puri etc as a quick snack.

rmk 3y ago

There are also the 'sweet' pickles, murabba: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murabba https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murabba Don't know what they would be called in the west. I see 'preserves' often, but they seem to be closer relatives of jams than murabbas. Unlike jams, murabbas have a savory taste (much smaller than the overall sweet taste) element to them.

RugnirViking 3y ago
Hmmm. Marmalade perhaps? Chutney, or Confit
- selimthegrim 3y ago
  Probably somewhere between chutney and preserves. Its slang usage, definitely accentuate the kitchen-sink /lots of things thrown together element to it, (“choon choon ke murabbe” is an affectionate term of abuse you shout at misbehaving children, at least in North of subcontinent, roughly “naughty little rascal/scamp”)

rickbradley 3y ago

Usha's Pickle Digest is a great resource for pickling recipes: https://a.co/d/cOPoPni https://a.co/d/cOPoPni There was a NYT writeup back in 2020: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/dining/indian-pickle-queen-usha-prabakaran.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/dining/indian-pickle-quee...

known 3y ago

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