Food items mango pickle appropriate method for preservation
Answers
Answer:
place it in a glss jar so that no reaction takes place
Answer:
1. Sookhi kaeri (dried mango pickle): The technique used here for preservation is sun drying. The pieces of mango is sun dried for several days till it is completely devoid of moisture and feels a little hard, dry and the edges feel crispy. This reduces the water activity in the mango and hence the micro organisms fail to thrive in that environment. Also, the enzymes present in the mango itself requires a certain amount of moisture or water activity for it to function. As a result the mango is preserved for several months. It is then spiced with salt, turmeric, whole jeera, etc. to make it tasty!
2. Murabba and Khaman (both are varieties of sweet mango pickle): another technique used to preserve mangoes is to use sugar. When sugar is added to the mangoes, in the form of a sugar syrup, the sugar being hygroscopic, competes with the enzymes and micro organisms for the moisture. As a result, the organisms and enzymes cannot function according to their roles and hence, sugar acts as a preservative.
Due to high osmotic pressure, the water from the organisms is drawn out resulting in its death. As a result the pathogenic or spoilage bacteria are unable to survive in that osmotic pressure. Hence the mangoes are preserved. However, Indians being sweet lovers, find these forms of pickling extremely tempting. They pair it with theplas, parathas, etc., and enjoy it’s flavour.
3. Methia kaeri (fenugreek mangoes): The bitter phenolic compounds present in the fenugreek seeds are probably responsible for the preservative effect. However, studies need to be carried out with regards to this. Hence, nothing can be said for sure.
But a sure reason is use of oils in all the other mango pickles. Be it mixed mango pickle or fenugreek or woth any other ingredient. The oil cut down the air supply, and therefore the oxygen supply to the spoilage and pathogenic bacteria. So they fail to thrive. This is also the reason why our grandmothers used to fill a layer of oil over the pickles in the bottles and jars. Today as we become health conscious and start to add less and less oil to pickles, have you noticed that the topmost layer of the pickle often seems to be covered with fungi?