Pickle picked with history

Opening pickle jar counts as a small trivial of human happiness, isn't it?

No summer holidays at Grandma's home in India are complete without those big white ceramic jars sitting out in the sun on the terrace, filled to the brim with mouth-watering pickles. That excitement and privilege of helping our granny and mommy during the careful preparation of the ingredients, the addition of assorted spices, mixed raw masalas and aromatic pickle oils is an unforgettable experience. Our childhoods are instantly revisited every time we taste even one spoonful of the humble and juicy pickle known as "achaar".

But, how many of us know how this spicy marinade pickle seeped into Indian culinary history and tradition?

The word pickle is derived from the Dutch word "pekel" which means brine. Its Indian counterpart "achaar" however, has its roots in the Persian term which means “powdered or salted pickles or fruits, preserved in salt, vinegar, honey or syrup.”

The tradition of pickle preparation has an ancient and rich legacy which is found in the Kannada text Lingapurana of GurulingaDesika 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 have been an integral part of the Indian food culture for centuries and are known by different names across India; Loncha in Marathi, Achaar in Hindi, Athanu in Gujarati, Urukai in Tamil, etc. The earliest known record of pickling dates back to BCE 2030 in the Tigris Valley, which was made by preserving cucumbers in brine.