Spices for pickles and preserves
Achaar, kimchi, chutney and cured meats: spice as a way to keep food.
Preserves use spice as a flavour and as a help against spoilage. Pickles, chutneys, chilli pastes, spiced jams and cured meats rely on salt, acid, oil and spice.
Pickles and chutneys
Indian achar uses mustard seed, fenugreek, chilli and turmeric in oil. Korean kimchi is seasoned with gochugaru and garlic. British chutneys use mustard seed, ginger and vinegar, and German and Eastern European pickles use dill and mustard seed.
Cured meats and fish
Pimenton gives Spanish chorizo its colour, black pepper and juniper season salami and pastrami, and Scandinavian cures use allspice and dill.
Why spice helps
Many spice oils have a mild antimicrobial effect in the lab, but safe preserving depends on salt, acid, correct heating and clean jars. Follow tested recipes.
Pickles and preserves on EveryMasala
The spices written up so far, best known first.
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreTarragon
A slender perennial herb with anise-scented leaves, prized in French and Middle Eastern cooking.Leaf · Anise and liquorice · Sweet and mellow
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreEast Indian arrowrootകൂവ
A wild South Asian ginger valued for its turmeric-scented foliage and starchy rhizome.Root · Earthy and deep · Herbal and green
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreGingermint
A sterile mint hybrid grown for essential oil and chewing gum flavour.Herbal and green · Sweet and mellow
🇦🇫 Afghanistan and 5 moreLovageлюбисток
A tall European herb with celery-like leaves and spicy seeds used in soups and broths.Leaf · Sharp and pungent · Herbal and green
🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreJimbu
A dried wild onion herb from the Himalayas, used to season lentils and meat.Leaf · Sharp and pungent · Herbal and green
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreBay Laurelδάφνη
The dried leaf of a Mediterranean evergreen, used to infuse slow-cooked dishes with herbal depth.Sharp and pungent · Bitter
🇱🇦 Laos and 5 moreLemon basil
A hybrid herb with a bright citrus scent, used across Southeast Asia and Africa.Leaf · Citrus and bright · Herbal and green
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreShiso紫蘇
A mint-family herb with serrated leaves, used fresh or pickled across East Asia.Leaf · Herbal and green · Sharp and pungent
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jimbu: CJoshi0, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shiso: Dalgial, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- East Indian arrowroot: Jeevan Jose, Kerala, India, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bay Laurel: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us, source
- Gingermint: SEWilco, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lovage: 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lemon basil: Kembangraps, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tarragon: KENPEI, CC BY-SA 3.0, source