06 Pickles ΠVegetable based fermented foods

VI. Pickles – Vegetable based fermented foods
1. Mesu
2. Lime pickle
3. Dry salted lime pickle
4. Bamboo pickle
5. Mango pickle
6. Cucumber pickle
7. Sweet potato pickle
8. Jack fruit Pickle
Other pickles – Brinjal, Bottle gourd, Inflorescence of cauliflower, Unripe
pear, Unripe plum, Tomato, Bidana fruits, Galgal fruits, Peach fruits, Fresh ferns
stem.
1. Mesu
Place of origin/usage: Darjeeling hills and Sikkim.
Nature of food: Vegetable based.
Usual composition/ingredients: Bamboo shoot.
Method of preparation: Following two methods are practiced.
The shoots are finely chopped (1–2 cm) and transferred into a bamboo vessel or a glass
bottle, tightly packed and capped to provide an airtight environment. The material is
allowed to ferment at ambient temperature (20–25° C) for 7 to 8 days.
Locally grown young edible shoots of Dendrocalamus hamiltonii (‘choya bans’),
Bambusa tulda (‘karati bans’) and Dendrocalamus sikkimensis (‘bhalu bans’) are
defoliated, chopped finely and pressed tightly into a green hollow bamboo stem. The tip of
the vessel is covered tightly with leaves of bamboo or other wild plants and left to ferment
under natural anaerobic conditions for 7-15 days. Completion of fermentation is indicated
by the typical mesu flavour and taste.
Nature of fermentation: Lactic acid fermentation.
Microorganism(s) involved: The fermentation was initiated by P. pentosaceus followed by
L. brevis and finally succeeded by L. plantarum.
Method of cooking: A very common pickle is also prepared by mixing Mesu with salt and
green chillies. It is also used in the preparation of meat curry after frying.
Method of storage/preservation: Mesu-pickle is mixed with edible oil, chilies and salt and is
kept in a closed jar for several months without refrigeration. Mesu is kept in a green
bamboo vessel, loosely capped by leaves of fig plant tied by straw.
Reference(s): Tamang and Sarkar, 1988, Tamang and Sarkar, 1996, Tamang, 1998, Tamang
and Tamang, 2009.
2. Lime pickle
Place of origin/usage: South India.
Nature of food: Vegetable based.
Time of consumption: Dietary supplement.
Usual composition/ingredients: Lime 1.5kg, salt 375g, coriander seeds 12g, cumin seeds 9g,
fenugreek seeds 15g, red chilly powder 12g and turmeric powder 2 g.
Method of preparation: Fully ripe lime were selected and washed well and cut into 4 slits.
Coriander, fenugreek and cumin seeds were roasted and powdered. Salt, red chilli powder,
turmeric and roasted spice powder were added to the like pieces and pickle was placed in
pet jar and allowed to cure for one week.
Reference(s): Geetha and Prakash, 2006.
3. Dry salted lime pickle
Place of origin/usage: South India.
Nature of food: Vegetable based.
Time of consumption: Dietary supplement.
Method of preparation: Limes are placed in a layer, approximately 2.5 cm deep, into the
fermenting container (a barrel or keg). One kilogram of salt is added for every four
kilograms of limes. The salt is sprinkled over the vegetables. Another layer of vegetables is
added and more salt added. This is repeated until the container is three quarters full. A cloth
is placed above the vegetables and a weight added to compress the vegetables and assist in
the formation of brine. The formation of brine takes about 24 hours. The container is then
placed in the sun for a week. As soon as the brine is formed, fermentation starts. As
fermentation starts, bubbles of carbon dioxide appear. Fermentation takes between one and
four weeks depending on the ambient temperature. Fermentation is complete when no more
bubbles appear.
Reference(s): Lal et al, 1986, Kordylas, 1990.
4. Bamboo pickle
Place of origin/usage: North Eastern Himalayan region.
Nature of food: Vegetable based.
Usual composition/ingredients (types of bamboo): Bambusa balcooa Roxb., B. nutans
Wall. ex Munro, B. tulda Roxb., Dendrocalamus giganteus Munro in Trans., D.
hamiltonii Nees et. Am, D. hookerii Munro in Trans., D. longispathus Kurz, D.
sikkimensis Gamble, Melocanna baccifera (Roxb.) Kurz, Phyllostachys bambusoides
Sieb. and Zucc. and Teinostachyum wightii.
Nutritional profile of food: For different species, food energy ranged from 14.6 to 16.9
MJ/kg and ash content from 2.1 to 3.7%, crude fibre content ranged between 23.1 and
35.5%, fat between 0.6 and 1.0% and carbohydrate between 4.5 and 5.2%. Young edible
bamboo shoots were also found rich in macronutrients, particularly in calcium with a
range of 1.2 - 1.9 g/100 g. The potassium content ranged from 0.02 to 0.03 g/100 g,
phosphorus from 0.5 to 1.0 g/100 g and magnesium from 0.04 to 0.05 g/100 g. Edible
shoots were also rich in vitamins. Among species, the ascorbic acid ranged from 3.0 to
12.9 mg/100 g, tryptophan from 0.4 to 1.7 g/16 g N and methionine from 0.3 to 0.8 g/16
g N. Hydrocyanic acid (HCN) content was also available in edible shoots; however, the
range varied from 0.01 to 0.02%.
Reference(s): Bhatt et al., 2005.
5. Mango pickle
Place of origin/usage: South India.
Nature of food: Vegetable based.
Usual composition/ingredients: Mango unripe fruits.
Time of consumption: Dietary supplement.
Nutrients profile of food: The ascorbic acid was found to be higher in home made pickles.
Mango oil pickle prepared and stored at room temperature (30 ± 5° C) for the
period of three and six months was analysed for its bio-chemical changes and
organoleptic values. The pH, acidity, total and reducing sugar showed an increasing
trend with the increase in storage period, while the parameters like protein content,
ascorbic acid and non-reducing sugar were found to decrease with the increase in storage
period.
Mango pickles inoculated with salt tolerant strain of Aspergillus niger got spoiled
at 10% salt, 40% oil and 4.2% native acidity. Salt concentration of 15% protected the
pickles against spoilage by the inoculated organism as well as the native flora of the
pickles. Groundnut oil did not have any preservative effect against microbial spoilage.
Reference(s): Kanekar et al., 1989.
6. Cucumber
Place of origin/usage: North India.
Nature of food: Vegetable based.
Usual composition/ingredients: Cucumber (Cucumis sativus).
Method of preparation: There is no systematic and detailed information available on the
pickling aspects of cucumbers. At the same time, there is no other convenient and
economical method for preservation and storage of cucumbers.
Reference(s): Sandhu and Shukla, 1996.
7. Sweet potato
Place of origin/usage: Orissa.
Nature of food: Vegetable based.
Usual composition/ingredients: Sweet potato.
Time of consumption: Dietary supplement.
Method of preparation: Freshly harvested and unbruised β-carotene-rich sweet potato
roots were collected. The roots were properly washed, peeled and cut into small cubes
(approximately 1 cm). These cubes were blanched in boiling water for 1 min at 70ºC.
The blanched sweet potato cubes (140 g) were dispensed in 500-mL plastic jars or mud
pot containers. Brine solution was added and fermented at room temperature (at
28±20ºC for 28 days).
Nature of fermentation: Lactic acid fermentation.
Microorganism(s) involved: Lactobacillus plantarum.
Microorganism(s) involved in spoilage: Aspergillus sp.
Related/Varied forms of the food: Most of these people are in the habit of consuming
pickles from various vegetables and fruits (amla [Emblica officinalis L.],) as dietary
supplement and for culinary purpose. Sweet potato, in tropical regions, is consumed in
the households of small farmers and poor people. Night blindness is a major
physiological disorder among these people due to vitamin A deficiency, which can be
alleviated by regular consumption of orange-flesh (β-carotene-rich) sweet potato either
fresh, boiled or as a supplement in curd/yogurt and as lacto-pickles.
Reference(s): Ray and Panda 2005; Panda et al., 2006; 2007.
8. Jack fruit Pickle
Place of origin/usage: India.
Nature of food: Vegetable based.
Time of consumption: Dietary supplement.
Method of preparation: Young green jack fruit are peeled and cut into 1.2 to 1.8 cm thick
slices. The slices are placed in a container and covered in an 8% common salt solution.
They are weighed down to keep them submerged in the brine. The brine solution is
increased by 2% each day until it reaches 15%. The slices are then left for 8-10 days in the
brine. Vinegar and spices are added prior to packaging.
Reference(s): Lal et al., 1986.
Consumption of pickles
prepared from various vegetables (yams, colocasia),
unripe fruits (mango, amla, etc.) and lactic-fermented products (cucumber, cabbage, etc.),
ginger and garlic, tuber of
Curcuma amada (Gingerberaceae) and Decalepis hamitonii
(Apocyanaceae) is in the regular food habits of the people in the Asian continent.
The following table shows traditional pickles of Himachal Pradesh (Savitri and Bhalla, 2007)
Traditional pickles of Himachal Pradesh
Product
Solanum melongena Linn. (Brinjal)
Lagenaria siceraria Mol. Standle (Ghia)
Brassica oleracea botrytis Linn. Alef. (Cauliflower)
Pyrus amygdaliformis (Pear)
Prunus domestica Linn. (Plum)
Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. (Tomato)
Artocarpus lackoocha Roxb. (Bidana)
Citrus psedolimon Tanaka (Galgal)
Prunus persica Batsch (Peach)
Diplazium esculentum Sw. (Lingri)
Raw material
Unripe fruits
Unripe fruits
Inflorescence of cauliflower
Unripe fruits
Unripe fruits
Unripe fruits
Unripe fruits
Unripe fruits
Unripe fruits
Fresh stem of fern
Storage
The increase in the shelf-life of all the pickle types (mango, mixed vegetable, and
lemon) was proportionate to the increased doses of spices and mustard oil. The results may be
of use to the food microbiologist and common people (Verma and Singh, 2005).