Practical Manual 

Food Processing EXPERIMENT 3 PREPARATION OF

and Engineering-I
PICKLES AND CHUTNEYS,
RELISHES AND SAUCES

Structure

3.1 Introduction
Objectives
3.2 Experiment
Principle
Requirements
Procedure
Observations
Result
3.3 Precautions

3.1 INTRODUCTION
Pickling is the result of fermentation by lactic acid-forming bacteria, which are
generally present in large numbers on the surface of fresh vegetables and fruits.
These bacteria can grow in acid medium and in the presence of 8-10 % salt
solution, whereas the growth of a majority of undesirable organisms is
inhibited. Lactic acid bacteria are most active at 30°C, so this temperature must
be maintained as far as possible in the early stage of pickle making. When
vegetables are placed in brine, the brine penetrates into the vegetable 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 that in turn convert the sugars into lactic and other
acids. The acid brine thus formed acts upon vegetable tissues to produce the
characteristic taste and aroma of pickle. Pickles are consumed as minor item in
food to make meals more a) appetizing, b) digestive, c) antiseptic due to the
presence of spices, d) supplying protective food as vitamins and minerals. The
commercial varieties of pickles can be divided into five classes.
1. Fermented Pickle
2. Oil Pickle
3. Acid Pickle
4. Mustard Pickle
5. Brine Pickle
Out of five classes only first four are sold in form of finished pickle where as
the last one mainly brine pickle is generally not sold for consumer but is kept
for further processing to make other types of pickle.

Objectives
After going through this experiment, you should be able to:
• know the pickling processes by pickling the available fruits and vegetables;
• describe the methods of chutney, relishes and sauces; and
• explain the precautions during the processes of product making.
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 Preparation of
3.2 EXPERIMENT Pickles and
Chutneys, Relishes
and Sauces
3.2.1 Principle
Pickles and chutneys are prepared with salt, vinegar, oil or with a mixture of
salt, oil, spices and vinegar.

3.2.2 Requirements
Raw materials, equipment and apparatus
1. Fruit/vegetable, sugar
2. Peeler
3. Juicer
4. Pulper
5. Filter cloth / sieve
6. Pans of suitable size
7. Heaters
8. Thermometer
9. Crown corking / capping machine
10. Corks / caps
11. Volumetric flask
12. Measuring cylinder
13. Weighing balance
14. Potable water
Chemicals and reagents
1. Hydrochloric acid
2. Citric acid / ascorbic acid
3. Potassium metabisulphite
4. Sodium benzoate

3.2.3 Procedure
a) Pickles and its Method of Preparation
Pickles are prepared with salt, vinegar, oil or with a mixture of salt, oil,
spices and vinegar. The general process for the preparation and
preservation of is as under:
1. Preservation with salt
Salt improves the taste, flavour and hardness of the tissues of
vegetables and controls fermentation. Salt content of 15 % or above
prevents microbial spoilage. This method of preservation is generally
used only for vegetables which contain very little sugar and hence
sufficient lactic acid cannot be formed by fermentation to act as
preservative. However, some fruits like lime, mango, etc., are also
preserved with salt. The preparation of some pickles is described
below:
i) Lime pickle: Lime 1 kg, salt 200 g, red chilli powder 15 g,
cinnamon, cumin, cardamom (large) and black pepper (powdered)
each 10 g, clove (headless) 5 numbers.

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 Practical Manual 
Food Processing
and Engineering-I

ii) Mango pickle: Mango peeled and sliced 1 kg, salt 200 g, red chilli
powder 109, asafoetida 5 g, fenugreek, black pepper, cardamom
(large), cumin and cinnamon (powdered) each 109, clove
(headless) 6 numbers.

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2) Preservation with vinegar Preparation of
Pickles and
A number of fruits and vegetables are preserved in vinegar whose final Chutneys, Relishes
and Sauces
concentration, in terms of acetic acid, in the finished pickle should not
be less than 2 %. To prevent dilution of vinegar below this strength by
the water liberated from the tissues, the vegetables or fruits are
generally placed in strong vinegar of about 10 % strength for several
days before pickling. This treatment helps to expel the gases present in
the intercellular speces of vegetable tissue. Vinegar pickles are the most
important pickles consumed in foreign countries. Mango, garlic,
chillies, etc., are preserved as such in vinegar.
i) Onion pickle: Onions 1 kg, vinegar 1 litre, salt 250 g, red chilli
powder 10 g, cardamom (large), black pepper, cumin (powdered)
each 10 g, clove (headless) 5 numbers.

3) Preservation with oil

The fruits or vegetables should be completely immersed in the edible
oil. Cauliflower, lime, mango and turnip pickles are the most important
oil pickles.
i) Mango pickle: Mango pieces 1 kg, salt 150g, fenugreek
(powdered) 25g, turmeric (powdered) 15 g, nigella seeds 15g, red
chilli powder 10g, clove (headless) 8 numbers, black pepper,
cumin, cardamom (large), aniseed (powdered) each 15g, asafoetida
2g, mustard oil 350 ml Gust sufficient to cover pieces).
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 Practical Manual 
Food Processing
and Engineering-I

b) Chutney and its Method of Preparation

• The method of preparation of chutney is similar to that for jam except
that spices, vinegar and salt are added.
• The fruits/vegetables are peeled, sliced or grated, or cut into small
pieces and cooked in water until they become sufficiently soft.
• The quality of a chutney depends to a large extent on its cooking which
should be done for a long time at a temperature below the boiling point.
• To ensure proper thickening, cooking is done without a lid even though
this results in some loss of volatile oils from the spices.
• Chopped onion and garlic are added at the start to mellow their strong
flavours. Spices are coarsely powdered before adding.
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• Vinegar extract of spices may be used instead of whole spices. Spice Preparation of
and vinegar are added just before the final stage of cooking, because Pickles and
Chutneys, Relishes
prolonged boiling causes loss of some of the essential oils of spices and and Sauces
of vinegar by volatilization.
• In mango and apricot sweet chutneys, where vinegar is used in large
quantity, the amount of sugar added may be reduced because vinegar
itself acts as a preservative.
• The chutneys are cooked to the consistency of jam to avoid
fermentation. Some of the common recipes for preparation of chutney
are given below.
1. Sweet mango chutney
Mango slices or shreds 1 kg, sugar 1 kg, salt to taste, onions (chopped)
50g, garlic (chopped) 15g, ginger (chopped) 15g, red chilli powder 10g,
black pepper, cardamom (large), cinnamon, cumin, aniseed (powdered)
10g each, clove (headless) 5 numbers and vinegar 170 ml.

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 Practical Manual  2. Apple chutney
Food Processing
and Engineering-I Apple slices 1 kg, sugar 750 g, dried dates (chopped) 100g, salt to taste,
raisins 50g, ginger (chopped) 15g, red chilli powder 10g, black pepper,
cardamom (large), cinnamon, cumin, aniseed (powdered) 10g each,
clove (headless) 5 numbers, onions (chopped) 250g, garlic (chopped)
15g, and vinegar 200 ml.

3. Apricot chutney
Apricot slices 1 kg, sugar 1 kg, salt to taste, onions (chopped) 50g,
garlic (chopped) 10g, ginger (chopped) 20g, red chilli powder 10g,
black pepper, cardamom (large), cinnamon, cumin, aniseed (powdered)
10g each, clove (headless) 5 numbers and vinegar 150 ml.

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c) Relish Preparation of
Pickles and
Relish is a semi solid or vinegar extract prepared by mixing fruit or Chutneys, Relishes
and Sauces
vegetable pulp and used in making food more flavourful and relishing. It
can also include the sauces and chutney.
In the preparation of relish mayonaise comes fore most. The next comes is
mustard paste and third one is spice vinegar.
Mayonaise

Recipes 1kg Salad oil Preparation Egg yolk and oil is

beaten together and kept aside spiced
100g egg yolk vinegar is taken and mixed with the
mixture of oil and egg yolk. Add
1 kg vinegar spiced sugar to the mixture. Gum tragcanth
can be used as stablizer in
100 g sugar immulsion.
Sod. Benzoat 200 ppm

Mustard paste
The mustard paste is prepared by mixing mustard powder with spiced
vinegar to make a smooth paste. It is preserved with 0.05% BHA and
250ppm sodium benzoat.
Spiced Vinegar is nothing but malt vinegar infused with spices and herbs.
Whole spices are put in a muslin bag and suspended for 3-4 days. After that
it is simmered and spiced oils are added.
d) Sauces
Sauces are made from fruit/vegetable pulps, flavoured with vinegar and
spices. There are two types of sauces namely 1) Thin sauces and 2) Thick
sauces.
Thin sauces: Thin sauces are those where the flavour of spices, grains
fruits, vegetables are extracted in Vinegar. The most popular in this
category are a) Worestershire Sauce, b) Soya Sauce, c) Walnut Ketchup.
Thick sauces: Thick sauces are those where spices, vinegar, sugar and
starch are mixed with fruit and vegetable pulps. They are concentrated to
desired consistency. Thick sauces are generally prepared from tomatoes or
from vegetables.
Vinegar: It is one of the ingredient used in pickles its types are given in
Annexure I.

3.2.4 Observation
Determine TSS, acidity and salt.

3.2.5 Result
TSS, acidity and salt = %

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 Practical Manual 
Food Processing 3.3 PRECAUTIONS
and Engineering-I
• All equipment used in the preparation of fruit juices and squashes should
be rust and acid proof.
• Copper and iron vessels should be strictly avoided as these metals react
with fruit acids, and cause blackening of the product.
• The spices should be free from foreign matter and microbial contamination.

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