Tips for Healthy Pickling & Fermenting

For Indians, a meal can never be completed without the hint of pickles. The tangy, spicy taste of pickles can easily make the bland and boring dish interesting. Be it Khichdi, daal, rice or even chapati- pickles can accompany any food while adding a different and unique zest to it. We know that the process of pickling or fermenting is quite tricky and just a single wrong step can easily spill water on the hard work of pickling.

Today, we bring you some tips that will definitely help you to ferment pickle rightly. So, put your apron on and get ready to add different and unique flavours of pickles in your kitchen cabinets with our guidelines.

Keep these tips in your mind while pickling to make your pickle tasty and fermented just like those store-bought pickles:

• Pay attention to the quality of vegetables and dryness: It is quite important to choose fresh produce to get healthy pickles. New, firm and good quality veggies are long-lasting and increase the shelf life of the pickle. It is quite important to dry out all the vegetables before you mix them with the salt. Even the smallest amount of moisture in the vegetables can break the pickles while creating the mould on the surface.
• Use additive-free salt: The ‘quality of salt’ can easily make or break your pickles. It is quite important to choose the correct salt to increase the shelf-life of the pickle and to make it appetizing. Pickling salt which is also known as canning salt should be used in pickles. This salt is purely granulated and does not contain iodine which is found in table salt. It is free from additives and is great for the fermentation of the pickles. Do not use iodized table salt as it can disturb the process of fermentation and also alter the hues and consistency (rough/soft) of the vegetables while leaving the leftovers at the bottommost part of the jar.
• Do wait before eating: As soon as you are done with the process of making pickles, it is imperative to leave it in sunlight for a long time. It is said that keeping it in sunlight work great as a natural preservative and it decreases the development of pathogenic bacteria that can easily rotten it. Keeping it in direct sunlight offers much-needed warmth to the pickle and ease out the process of fermentation. It is quite important to wait for a week or more to get the fermented and healthy pickles. The more you keep the pickle in sunlight, the more its flavour and taste improve.
• Use the correct containers: The correct containers increase the shelf life of the pickles while saving it from decaying and rotting. Always use airtight, disinfected and dry jars for the pickles as these jars keep the pickles dry, cool and decrease the risk of entering microbes inside.
• Shake up the jar every day: It is quite important to mix and shake the jar of pickle once or twice every day so that all the layer and sides of pickles can get the chance to stay in the oil and get properly fermented. Also, it takes the upper layer of the pickle deep in the surface and help in eradicating the mould, if any. Keep the lid sealed and vigorously shake the jar every day.

Over to you
Keep these pointers in mind when you start the process of pickling to properly ferment it and to increase their shelf life.