Pickles bags long history of tradition and legacy. According to the New York Food Museums’ Pickle History timeline, cucumbers that are native to India were first pickled in BCE 2030 in the Tigris Valley.
People have been eating pickles ever since the Mesopotamians started making them way back in 2400 B.C.E. During the Age of Exploration, many sailors on transoceanic voyages suffered from scurvy, a nasty but all-too-common disease caused by a deficiency of Vitamin C. On his storied expedition to the New World, Christopher Columbus reportedly rationed pickles to his sailors.
Alike other parts of the World, Indian food culture also unites with the legacy of Indian Pickles. Recognized by various names across the country – Uppinakaayi in Kannada, Pachadi in Telgu, Urukai in Tamil, Uppillittuthu in Malayalam, Loncha in Marathi, Athanu in Gujarati and Āchār in Hindi – pickle making, as a tradition, goes back thousands of years. The word āchār is widely considered to be of Persian origin. Āchār in Persian is defined as ‘powdered or salted meats, pickles, or fruits, preserved in salt, vinegar, honey, or syrup.’
According to Hobson-Jobson: The Definitive Glossary of British India, the word ‘āchār’ finds a mention in CE 1563, in works by Garcia da Orta, a Portuguese physician, describing a conserve of cashew with salt which he refers to as ‘and this they call Āchār.’
The tradition of achaar preparation has an ancient and rich legacy which is found in the Kannada text Lingapurana of Gurulinga Desika in 1594 CE. In this text, there is a mention of about more than fifty kinds of pickles. In another work Sivatattvaratnakara, an encyclopedia of the king of Keladi, Basavaraja belonging to the 17th century, there is a mention about pickles.
Pickles in India are of three basic types: those conserved in vinegar; those preserved in salt; and those well-maintained in oil. In India, oil is a prevalent medium used for pickling. The process of pickling is one of the best ways to preserve a food item. Once preserved, the pickled food will not need refrigeration, and so it travels well, making it ideal for long-distance journeys. In India, everyone follows a tradition of completing a meal with curd rice and pickle. There are many varieties including mango pickle, bitter guard pickle, lemon pickle, amla pickle, and many more. Non-veg pickles include chicken pickle, fish pickle, prawns pickle…
Paybacks of pickles
Pickles that are seasoned with salt, help in the growth of probiotic bacteria in your gut, therefore consuming pickles with food aid in better digestion.
Since pickles are made by preserving raw fruits or vegetables, the anti-oxidant properties of these ingredients are also preserved in the marinade. Anti-oxidants help in fighting against the free radicals that can cause various ailments.
Studies confirm that pickles boost our central nervous system and our mental health.
It is also an excessive way to offer children the nutrition they require from fruits and vegetables that they may not consume.
The fiber content of the fruits and vegetables is also retained if they are pickled. Due to the use of acetic acid in preparing pickles, your hemoglobin level is boosted. But it holds for pickles that have low salt content.
Pickles improve immunity in children and prevent them from common cold and flu.
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