PREPARATION OF

PICKLES AND CHUTNEY

Course Code: Hort- 362
Course Title: Post-harvest Management & Value Addition of Fruit &Vegetables

College of Agriculture
Central Agricultural University, Imphal
Kyrdemkulai, Meghalaya

Course Instructor:
Dr. Pranabjyoti Sarma
Professor (Horticulture)

Submitted by:
Ganguli Kumar Verma
CAU/COA/B22/38
3rd Year, 6th Semester
2024-25
PREPARATION OF PICKLES AND CHUTNEY

CONTENTS:

1. CHUTNEY
• Difference between chutney and jam.
• Steps in preparation of Chutney.
• Example: preparation of mango Chutney

2. PICKLE
• Steps in preparation of pickle
• Types of pickling (dry salt & brine fermentation)
• Types of preservation (oil, vinegar & salt)
• Example: preparation of lemon pickle.
CHUTNEY:
• Chutney is a type of jam made without any additional pectin and flavored
with vinegar and various spices.
• Often found in Indian cuisines.
• A good quality chutney should be palatable and appetizing.
• Mango chutney is an important food product exported from India to many
countries.
• Apple and apricot chutneys are also very popular in the country.

Difference between Chutney and Jam

Chutney Jam

1. It has salt and vinegar. 1. No salt and vinegar.

2. Less amount of sugar is added. 2. Large amount of sugar is added.
3. Spices are used for flavor. 3. Spices are not used.
4. Onion and garlic are added. 4. No garlic and onion.
5. Vegetables and fruits are both used. 5. Mostly fruits are used.
6. Pectin content is not so important. 6. Pectin is important in jam for its texture.

STEPS IN PREPARATION IN CHUTNEY:

I. The fruits / vegetables are peeled, sliced or grated or cut into small pieces.
II. Cooked in water until they become sufficiently soft.
• The quality of chutney depends to a large extent on its cooking
which should be done for a long time at a temperature below the
boiling point.
• For proper thickening, cooking is done without a lid even though
this results in some loss of volatile oils from the spices.
III. Chopped onion and garlic are added at the start to mellow their strong
flavors.
IV. Spices are coarsely powdered before adding.
• Vinegar extract of spices may be used instead of whole spices.
V. Spices and vinegar are added just before the final stage of cooking.
• Because prolonged boiling causes loss of some of the essential oils
of spices and of vinegar by volatilization.
Chutney preparation
1) In mango and apricot sweet chutneys,
• vinegar is used in large quantity,
• the amount of sugar added may be reduced,
• because vinegar itself acts as a preservative.
2) These chutneys are cooked to the consistency of jam to avoid fermentation.

PREPARATION OF SWEET MANGO CHUTNEY:

Recipe:
✓ Mango slices /shreds – 1.0 kg,
✓ Sugar / gur – 1.0 kg,
✓ Salt – 45 g,
✓ Onions (chopped) – 50 g,
✓ Garlic (chopped)-15 g ,
✓ ginger (chopped) – 15 g,
✓ red chilli powder – 10 g,
✓ black pepper, cardamom,
✓ cinnamon, cumin – 10 g each,
✓ cloves – 5 nos.
✓ vinegar – 170 ml. Process
Process:
1. Select mature mangoes
2. Washing the mango
3. Peeling the mango
4. Grating (or) slicing
5. Cooking with a little water to make
highly soft
6. Mixing with sugar and salt and leaving for an hour
7. Keeping all ingredients (except vinegar) in cloth bag, tied loosely, putting
in mixture and cooking on low flame
8. During cooking, spice bag pressed occasionally.
9. Cooking to consistency of jam (up to 105 degree C) with stirring
occasionally.
10. Removal of spice bag after squeezing.
11. Addition of vinegar.
12. Cooking for 2-5 min.
13. Filling hot into bottles.
14. Sealing (airtight).
15. Storage at ambient temperature.
Pickle:
 The preservation of food in common
salt / in vinegar is known as pickling.
 One of the most ancient methods of
preserving fruits and vegetables.
 Pickles are good appetizers and add to
the palatability of a meal.
 They stimulate the flow of gastric juice
and thus helps in digestion.
PRESERVATION BY NaCl
• Sodium chloride is an indispensable component of food.
• At lower concentrations it contributes significantly to the flavor.
• At higher concentrations it exhibits an important bacterio-static action.
• Salt is easily available and not expensive.
PICKLING STAGES:
Pickling is done in two stages
1. By curing / fermentation with dry salting / fermentation in brine / salting
without fermentation
2. By finishing and packing.
PICKLING PROCESS:
• Pickling is the result of fermentation
by lactic acid forming bacterial which
are generally present on fresh
vegetables and fruits.
• These bacteria can grow in acid
medium and in the presence of 8-10%
salt solution.
• The growth of a majority of
undesirable organisms is inhibited.
• Lactic acid bacteria are most active at 30oC, so this temperature must be
maintained in the early stage of pickle making.
• When vegetables are placed in brine, it penetrates into the tissues and
soluble material present in them diffuses into the brine by osmosis.
• The soluble material includes fermentable sugars and minerals.
• The sugars serve as food for lactic acid bacteria which convert them into
lactic acid and other acids.
• The acid brine thus formed acts upon vegetables tissues to produce the
characteristics taste and aroma of pickle.
Two processes of pickling:
1. Dry Salting Method
2. Fermentation in brine.
Types of preservation:
1. Preservation with Salt,
2. Preservation in Vinegar, and
3. Preservation In Oil.
DRY SALTING METHOD
• Alternate layers of vegetables and salt (20-30 gm of dry salt/kg vegetables)
are kept in a vessel.
• Covered with a cloth and a wooden board and allowed to stand for about
24 hrs.
• Due to osmosis, sufficient juice comes out from the vegetables to form
brine.
• The amount of brine required is usually equal to half the volume of
vegetables.
• Brining is the most important step in pickling.
• As soon as brine is formed, fermentation process starts and CO2 is formed.
• The salt content is now increased gradually, so that by the time the pickle
is ready, salt concentration reaches 15%.
• When fermentation is over, gas formation ceases.
• Under favorable conditions fermentation is completed in7-10 days.
• When sufficient lactic acid has been formed, lactic acid bacteria cease to
grow and no further change takes place.
Important points to be noted during pickling
• Precautions should be taken against
spoilage by aerobic microorganisms.
• Properly brined vegetables keep well in
vinegar for a long time.
• Lactic acid bacteria can thrive in brine
of 8-10% strength.
• Fermentation takes place fairly well
even in 5% brine.
• In a brine of 10% salt, fermentation
proceeds somewhat slowly.
• Fermentation takes place to some extent up to 15% but stops at 20%
strength.
• It is therefore, advisable to place the vegetables in 10% salt solution for
vigorous lactic acid fermentation.
FERMENTATION IN BRINE
• Steeping of the vegetable in a salt solution of pre-determined concentration
for a certain length of time is called brining.
• Done in cucumbers and similar vegetables which do not contain sufficient
juice to form brine with dry salt.
• Brine can be prepared by dissolving in common salt in water and filtering
it through the cloth to remove insoluble impurities.
• The remaining process is similar to that of dry salting method.
RAW MATERIALS FOR PICKLING
1. Salt: Free from impurities.
2. Vinegar:
• Vinegar of good quality should contain at least 4% acetic acid.
• For good keeping quality pickle, the final concentration of acetic acid in
the pickle should not be less than 2%. Acetic acid, cedar acid etc. are
used.
3. Sugar: Used in the preparation of sweet pickles should be of high quality.
4. Spices: Added for flavor.
• The spices generally used are bay leaves, cardamom, chillies, cinnamon,
clove, coriander, mustard, black pepper, cumin, etc.
5. Water: Only potable water should be used for the preparation of brine.
• If hard water, add vinegar to neutralize.
6. Cooking utensils:
• Metallic vessels should be non-corrodible.
• Glass -lined vessels, and stainless-steel vessels are preferred.
• The ladles, spoons and measuring vessels should also be made on non-
corrodible materials.
• At present, pickles are prepared with salt, vinegar, oil (or) with a mixture
of salt, oil, spices and vinegar.
I. PRESERVATION WITH SALT:
• Salt improves the taste and flavor.
• Hardens the tissues of vegetables and controls fermentation.
• Spoilage is prevented (at concentration 15-20%)
• Vegetables do not ferment when they are packed with a large quantity of
salt.
• This method of preservation is applicable only to vegetables which contain
very little sugar because sufficient lactic acid cannot be formed by
fermentation to act as preservative.
• Some fruits like lime, mango, etc. are also preserved with salt.
LIME PICKLE (preservation with salt)
Recipe:
1. Lime – 1 kg,
2. salt – 200 g,
3. Red chilli powder –15 g,
4. Cinnamon, cumin, cardamom and black pepper (powdered) each –10 g
5. cloves – 5 Nos.

PROCESS OF LIME PICKLE

1. Select mature limes
2. Washing
3. Cutting into 4 pieces
4. Squeezing out juice from ¼ amount of fruit
5. Mixing spices and salt with juice
6. Mixing with lime pieces
7. Filling in jars
8. Covering with lid
9. Keeping in sun for 4-6 days (shaking jar at least twice a day)
10. Storage at ambient temperature.

II. PRESERVATION WITH VINEGAR

• Vinegar acts as a preservation.
• The final concentration of acid as acetic acid should not be less than 2%.
• To avoid dilution of vinegar, the vegetables/fruits are generally placed in
strong vinegar of about 10% acidity for several days before final packing.
• This treatment helps to expel the gases present in the intercellular spaces
of vegetable tissues.
• Papaya, pears, onion, garlic, chillies, mango and cucumber pickles are
prepared in this method.

III. PRESERVATION BY OIL

• The fruit / vegetable should be completely immersed in the edible oil.
• Cauliflower, lime, mango, amla, karonda, pepper, bitter gourd, brinjal,
turnip pickles are prepared from this method.
CONCLUSION:
• Care should be taken during pickle and chutney making.
• Make sure that it has the right amount of acid, water content and salt
concentration. So, that it can be stored for long period.
• Nowadays, more than homemade pickles, there many small industries
coming up for value addition of horticultural produce.
• New methods and technologies should be developed to improve the exist
methods.

Thank You