Usually people need some good starters or any supplementary snack that adds spice to the food. But many times people land up eating anything that is many times not beneficial for health. And after few span of time they get addicted to this supplementary snack. It is not that there are no good snacks that you can consume while having your food.
One such very good and healthy snack is pickles. Pickles are considered as a great snack when they are consumed with the daily food. They add spice to your food. And with that gives an immense health benefits which are not available with every kind of snack. Pickles have a ancient history that still maintains to create wonders with the normal food.
Well it goes long back of 4400 years from when Pickles have been a part of our culinary art especially pickled cucumbers which were popular in Mesopotamia region now known as Iraq. As there is insufficient info about the origin of pickles but in India, Pickles were well known in the Vedic period. And hence this snack is consumed from historic ages.
But at the same time all the things in the world ae discovered on the base of Necessity. Even pickles though it has a history but at equivalently it has valid reasons behind the invention of it. To start with the reason behind these inventions is during ancient times the journeys used to be very long and tiring. Usually, the travelers returned home after months of sail and travels. That was the exactly where the necessity for preserving food came into limelight which would last through out their journeys. And thus people started preparing such kind of food and snacks which would retain it taste till the longer period of time.
Another purpose behind inventing this kind of food and snacks were to preserve all this vegetables and fruits even after their season are over. So that you can relish those greenies even after the season is over. During the season they are naturally produced but these inventions made them available in off seasons without loosing their taste.
As this method was started every work had some or the other revolutionary and creative ideas that kept adding to the recipes of pickles. The honest-to-god pickle known to human creatures is pickled cucumbers. Even Aristotle have praised, appreciated its taste and healing effects.
Well going back to olden times even Romans displays a concise history of pickling like pickled cucumbers were eaten by Julius Caesar’s soldiers. They were highly nutritious and vitamin rich. Thus consuming pickle helped the militia to sustain sound health as the cucumbers cured their lesions quickly. Well not only cucumbers but even other vegetables were salt water drenched and conserved for longer term uses. And this tradition is going very well even till date.
At this date not a single vegetable as been left pickling. Most of the parts of the world consume pickles and like every individual has different taste they have created pickles according to their desired choices. But some of the ingredients that mingled up with raw vegetable have their properties which are also magical on the health.
This recipe has Salt as a seasoner which modifies to keep the whole thing freshened up but at the same time it also averts extreme humidifying of the snack. Thus accumulating salt and vinegar served the food item like salads and vegetables to remain fresh and sustain till long time.
In United States, pickled cucumbers were pioneered by the European émigré and speedily they became a central part of the everyday cookery.
The health benefits of the pickle are hard to believe:
- Raw, lacto-fermented vegetables turned as pickles have good bacteria that reduce the growth of harmful microbes in the intestines.
- They have a higher concentration of vitamin C.
- They help you absorb iron better.
- Probiotics foods are fetching the most modern healthy-living fashion. Probiotics are actually bacteria that lead to improved digestive health, but at the same time it allows the body to battles off the bad germs that reason stomach suffering. Even pickle is one of the probiotics foods that helps your intestine very well.
- It is proved that Fermented pickles consist of good bacteria that control damaging intestinal microbes. During the time of fermentation of pickles, lactic acid is formed. This acid brings down fat in the bloodstream, develops circulation, and lower high blood pressure.
- Like mentioned earlier it support a healthy digestive system.
- It also reintroduces good bacteria into the intestines, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, which is extremely favorable for diabetics.
- The researchers have also found it as a great remedy for auto-immune disorders.
Mustard seeds are known to be good for digesting foods and even turmeric powder has medicinal properties which are the major ingredients in processing pickles.- Many pickles are usually prepared with vinegars. Vinegar is also well known as a immune booster, it comforts digestive disorders, and can break down calcium deposits in a person’s joints.
Vinegar is known to shrink high blood pressure, and help deal with urinary infections.- It also re-mineralizes your bones, balance your blood pH, and fight infection.
- Vinegar is also anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.
- It also curbs the growth of the E.coli bacteria, and when used in combination with salt, which is regular in pickling, the anti-bacterial properties are improved.
Pickles add spice to life. Add joie de vivre to your life by consuming spicy snack.
