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.
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreGhost pepperbhut jolokia
A superhot chili from Northeast India with over one million Scoville units of heat.Chilli · Hot and fiery
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreCrushed red pepper
Dried and crushed chilli peppers, often with seeds, used as a spicy condiment.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Earthy and deep
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreCapsicum annuum
A flowering plant producing berries of many colors and heat levels, from sweet bell peppers to fiery chilies.Fruit · Hot and fiery · Sweet and mellow
🇭🇺 HungaryCherry peppercseresznyepaprika
A small Capsicum annuum cultivar from Hungary, used for paprika and preserves.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Sweet and mellow
🇮🇳 IndiaBanaras Lal Bharwamirchबनारसी लाल भरवा मिर्च
A thick-skinned chilli from Uttar Pradesh, prized for making traditional stuffed pickles.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Bitter
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreMizo chilliHmarchte
A pungent Capsicum frutescens cultivar from Mizoram, India, holding a Geographical Indication tag.Chilli · Hot and fiery
🇮🇳 IndiaKashmiri red chilliकश्मीरी लाल मिर्च
A mild Capsicum annuum cultivar prized for its deep red colour and low heat.Chilli · Earthy and deep
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreJalapeño
A medium-sized Capsicum annuum cultivar from Mexico known for its green pods and moderate heat.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Earthy and deep
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jalapeño: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cherry pepper: James Lee, CC BY 2.0, source
- Capsicum annuum: Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, Public domain, source
- Kashmiri red chilli: Miansari66, Public domain, source
- Banaras Lal Bharwamirch: Dinesh Chaubey, CC0, source
- Crushed red pepper: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ghost pepper: Gannon anjo at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source