Pickling is a process by which raw foods of different kinds are preserved with ingredients like vinegar, salt, spices, oil, firming agents and flavorings. Pickled food can be made from vegetables, fruits, fish, meat, eggs and even nuts. The process of pickling recipes is also often called corning or brining, where the food is preserved in brine for anaerobic fermentation for lactic acid production or is stored marinated in acetic acid like vinegar. Pickling lends the food a sour or a salty taste. Some of the most popular pickles are pickled cucumber, lemon pickle, mixed pickle, pickled pepper and Indian mango pickle.
Origin of Pickled Food
Pickling has been a common practice of giving a long shelf life to easily perishable foods since the historical times. In those times, pickled food used to be mainly made for out-of-season use and for the voyagers who had to spend several months or years in the seas. Before the steam engine days, salted beef and salted pork used to be the staple ingredients in pickling recipes for the sailors. The word “pickle” has its origin from a Dutch word “pekel,” which means brine and in the U.S and Canada; “pickle” is almost synonymous with pickled cucumber.
The Process of Pickling
The most important step involved in pickling is to sterilize the jar and the lid in hot water so that the harmful microorganisms are killed and the pickle ferments without spoiling in the brine or vinegar. Pickling recipes also involve the addition of raw foods in their sun dried forms (in most cases). The pickling stage is completed by mixing the sun-dried ingredients with vinegar/brine, oil and spices, after which the pickled food is stored and sealed in the jar.
Popular Pickled Food Recipes
Pickling in India means preserving mangoes, mixed vegetables, lime, chili, Indian goose berries, citron, tomato and garlic (some of them often dried) in edible oils especially mustard oil and assorted spices, in sealed jars. Pickling recipes with fishes is also common, especially the Tuna pickles which are very popular in the coastal areas, especially the Lakshadweep Islands. Thus, Indian pickled food which is known as achar in Hindi has a lot of variety. In Pakistani cuisine, pickling with fruits is more common. Indonesian pickling recipes are usually made out of bird’s eye chillies, shallots, carrots, green papaya and cucumber whereas in Vietnamese cuisine, pickles made from ground dates are a specialty. Kimchi is a Korean mixed vegetable pickled food preserved in clay pots. In China, pickling is done using baicai or Chinese cabbage, radish and chili pepper. The popular pickles in European cuisine are made from roots, peppers, watermelons, vegetables, eggplants and mushrooms. Americans like pickling out of olives, Mexican chili peppers and of course, cucumbers!
Advantages and Disadvantages of Pickling
While pickling allows non-seasoned foods to be eaten throughout the year and reaping their health benefits, the oily and spicy factors of pickled food can sometimes become the health concern for people prone to stomach ulcers and gastric problems.
Techniques Similar to Pickling
Pickling is a way of preserving food. However, there are some of other natural ways too which are similar to pickling recipes and they are fermentation, sugaring, smoking and home canning.
Pickled Food: Trivia
The popular nickname of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency is "the pickle factory."