Green mango pickle
Practical Action
Mango pickle flow sheet
Fruit
Sort
Wash
Drain
Cut
Soaked in brine
Drain
Add spices
Pack
The mangoes must be green and unripe
Remove damaged and over-ripe fruit
With clean water.
Remove stones and cut into uniform pieces. Hold in a 2-3%
salt solution to prevent browning
20% salt solution. Ferment for 4-5 days
Spices to taste
Pack in containers and add oil
Fermentation
There are two methods of making mango pickle – dry salting or using a ready made brine.
Dry salt fermentation
Mix the turmeric (100g per 10kg mango pieces) with the mango pieces. Pack the mango pieces
and salt in layers in pre-sterilised jars. Use 1.5-2.0kg salt per 10kg mango pieces. Make sure
that the top layer is salt. Place the jars in the sun to ferment. The salt will gradually turn into
brine as the juice is extracted from the mango and the mango piece will turn pale yellow. Make
sure that the pieces of fruit are submerged in the brine during the fermentation. Leave to
ferment for about 4-5 days.
Mix the ground roasted spices to taste and add them to the fermented pickle. Mix well. Pour a
layer of oil on top of the pickle to seal it. Good quality vegetable oil such as sunflower oil should
be used and finely ground chilli powder can be added to the oil for flavour and colour. Cover
with a lid, label the jar and store in a cool place away from direct sunlight.
Brine fermentation
Use a large non-metallic pot for the fermentation – a clay pot or a plastic bucket with a lid is
ideal. Mix the turmeric (100g per 10kg mango pieces) with the mango pieces. Soak the
chopped mangoes in a 20% brine solution (add 200g salt per litre of brine). Do not use
chlorinated water to make the brine as this will prevent the fermentation taking place. You must
use clean, potable water - use boiled water if the local water is not suitable for drinking. Sodium
metabisulphite (1000 ppm) and 1% calcium chloride can be added to the brine if desired.
Sodium metabisulphite acts as a preservative – it should be used with caution as high levels of
the chemical taint the pickle. Calcium chloride is added to the brine to improve the texture of
the mango pieces.
Make sure that all the mango pieces are in the brine – use 2 litres per kg mango. The mango
pieces will float when you first put them in the brine so you must place a clean plate or similar
heavy object on top to submerge the pieces.
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