A Quick Pickle.

Pickling is a ritual in many cultures and has been around for 4000 years, an ancient practice to prevent spoilage of food and develop texture and taste. An important component, the odor gets developed over time in a pickle. I grew up eating oil-pickled vegetables and fruits like lemon, unripe mango, carrot, gooseberry, or chilly pickle in India. Recently, I tried a pickled cucumber for the first time, it was delicious. Trying this new version of pickling, I came across fermentation pickling or brining liquid and vinegar-based pickling methods. Vinegar-based pickling is a much faster process than fermentation pickling (Max Bonem, May 24, 2017, para 8), henceforth, I decided to choose a raw vegetable that I would pickle using vinegar and other ingredients. The recipe I followed is as follows:-

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt and red chili powder.

• 4-5 whole black peppercorns

• 1/2 cup water

• 4 large carrots, cut in juliennes

A carrot or any root vegetable is perfect for pickling as they are fibrous and naturally sweet, hence they absorb maximum moisture. In vinegar pickling, no fermentation takes place. Although if pickling in vinegar, the vegetable loses its nutritional value over time but the end result is quite tasty. I packaged the carrots and liquid in a sealed mason jar. I pickled the carrots for a month but as it is a quick pickle, we can pickle and enjoy them in just 12 hours of pickling. I chose distilled white wine vinegar as it does not affect the color of vegetables but we can use other substitutes like rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar for a lighter end product and if the discoloration is not an issue. Peppercorns add an aromatic component to the pickle.

Sensory Evaluation of the vinegar pickled carrots:

Flavor: Sweet and salty with hints of spiciness contributed by the addition of chili powder

Colour: No visible discoloration seen. A slight orangish-red color due to red chili powder.

Texture: The carrots retained their crunchiness yet lost their shape while peppercorns settled at the bottom upon rehydration aided by the vinegar solution.

DAY 1 of Pickling

I think this was a successful attempt at making a pickle but I would like to pickle it for a longer time and also use other white color vegetables in order to see the changes in color over time. Carrot pickled in vinegar can be enjoyed as a condiment, filling in wraps and sandwiches, or can be eaten on its own as a snack.

DAY-30 of Pickling.