Instant lemon pickle recipe | South Indian style - Raks Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Why are my lemon pickles so bitter? ›

Choose juicy, thin skinned lemons. The white part/pith can cause bitterness. Remove seeds before making the pickle. If the pickle does come out slightly bitter (will be based on the lemons), then store it in airtight jar in fridge, mixing occasionally and the bitterness will go away as the pickle matures over time.

Just that making pickles with red chillies and other spices is quite pronounced in south India, just as preparing and eating pickles marinated in mustard oils with milder spice mix is preferred in north India.

No, we cannot store lemon pickle in an aluminium utensil because aluminium is a metal and metals readily react with acids to produce hydrogen. When aluminium comes in contact with lemon, which is acidic, would react to give hydrogen and the pickles will be spoiled.

Traditional Indian Pickles

Variety and Versatility: Indian pickles are made using a plethora of ingredients, not limited to fruits and vegetables. Mangoes, limes, carrots, chilies, gooseberries, and even seafood are pickled using a mixture of spices, salt, oil, and sometimes vinegar.

The secret ingredient is salt, which removes any bitterness.

Pickles and preserves produced at home: From India, many people enjoy bringing their own homemade pickles, chutneys, and preserves. These products are typically allowed, but you must pack them tightly to avoid leakage.

Assertion:- Lemon pickle is not stored in aluminium vessels. Reason:- Lemon pickle contains acid which reacts with aluminium vessels and forms toxic substances.

The ingredients used in curing and pickling are sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, sodium chloride, sugar, and citric acid or vinegar.

Pickles are acidic and nature and aluminium is a metal. We know acids react with metals to form salts and H₂ gas. Therefore, when pickles are covered by aluminium foil, they undergo a chemical reaction turning the food into toxic substance that might be injurious to health.

Which vinegar is best for Indian pickles? ›

You most certainly can and should use white vinegar for pickling. Most recipes call for it but I usually use apple vinegar, I like the flavor better. I use white vinegar in all sorts of pickles.

American pickles are vinegar based. Minimal if any spices. Indian pickles have a lot of powdered spice and are oil based.

Achaar is the Indian version of pickles—but instead of a vinegar/salt/sugar brine, various kinds of oils (mustard is the most common) and spices (think: fenugreek, mustard seeds, and fennel seeds) act as the preservative ingredients.

Why do pickles have a strong, bitter taste? This happens when you use old spices, cook too long in vinegar, or you use too much spice. Use fresh spices – use whole spices within 3-4 years of purchase. Use the processing time and method recommended in the tested fresh preserving recipe.

If allowed to infuse for too long, citrus fruits can impart bitter flavors to the water. The white piths of citrus rinds can be especially acrid.

The rind of the lemon is causing your water to taste bitter. You can peel the rind off and discard, before slicing the lemon to add to the water, or squeezing the juice into the water.