Spices Make the Pickles Flavorful in 4 Simple Ways

Did you take a look at the label on our glass jars?

It has a list of all the ingredients we use in the pickles. No ingredient left behind.

Now, If you are not making pickles, that list can be overwhelming to read.

You may not know why are all of them used in the first place.

I decided to address that topic in the email today.

I’m not a formally educated pickle maker.

And all my insights are from making, and serving pickles for decades.

In my experience, there are 4 types of purposes that spices serve in a pickle,

Because mustard oil and salt both protect food from going bad – they are the main ingredients used to make the pickle lasts for years on the shelf.

Few other spices too have properties that enhance shelf life, primarily Haldi, and Cumin.

The masalas of this type bring out the overall flavour texture and taste in the pickles.

By changing their proportions, you can increase the qualities like tanginess, sourness, freshness, and so on.

This includes spices like Jeera, Sauf, Dhaniya, Mangrella, and Amchoor to name a few.

In most of our pickles, roasted and ground yellow mustard forms the base of masala.

It allows all the other spices to mix together, and bring out a collective taste.

In certain pickles, like Mango Sookha Bharua, black mustard is also used as main spice.

Kala namak, for example, is mainly used because it enhances the taste and flavours – makes them more pronounced.

Similarly, Heeng also has this property to enhance and add freshness to the pickle.

At JhaJi Store, we buy most of our masala from local masala mandi in Samastipur.

Most masalas are sorted, roasted, and ground before being used in the pickles.

Now, I can go on and on about this topic.

But tell me, is there anything specific about masala you want to know more about?

प्रेम सहित,

Kalpana Jha

Chief Pickle Maker, JhaJi Store,

In Laherisarai, Darbhanga

"पग-पग पोखर माछ मखान

सरस बोल मुस्की मुख पान

इ थीक मिथिलाक पहचान"

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