Ah, the "achaar". So wrongly translated as "pickle". In my village (Ganges plain, North India), making achaar was a significant seasonal community event. When mangoes were small, we used to wait for heavy winds during early monsoon. A lot of raw mangoes would fall on the ground, and the next day they would be sold at a much cheaper price. There were two broad classes of mango varieties: one for eating ripe, and the o…
> The last process requires special hands if you wanted your pickle to last a few years. Is that some code word for hygiene? I seem to remember that the concept of hygiene for making achaar (and for other kitchen matters) was codified in religious practices in my family/community.
Hygiene matters but only incidentally, since it’s easier to keep one’s work area clean when they are clean.