Saskatchewan is a windy province. In the early spring, the wind blew away half the apple blossoms. The surviving blossoms produced fruit, but most of that, too, was knocked off the trees in August.  Well, what do you do with a windfall of immature green apples, too sour to cook into sauce or pies? Mom’s maxim – why waste anything if you can use it, especially food?

Unripe or green fruits and vegetables are often the key ingredients for Indian pickles or achar, and that is exactly what Mom decided needed to be done with the green apples that littered the lawn after the wind whipped the trees like pinatas earlier this week. My sister informed me would be making apple pickles on Sunday afternoon (unless Mom cannot contain her excitement and wants to start at dawn).

Putting up Indian pickles involves a lot of cutting and cleaning fruit and vegetables, mixing or grinding spices, blending vinegar, acidic juices, and oils, improvisation and guesstimating and occasionally stained clothes. The recipe is never the same from one batch to another, neither is the method. Achar making is only mastered if your palate appreciates spice combinations and you develop an understanding of how the texture of vegetables change when pickled.

However, it helps if you have a genetic predisposition. The Salariya women (Mom’s side) are gifted achar makers. Chiagi, my grandmother made a legendary cured fish in oil and spices (Desi ceviche?), unheard of for vegetarians! Mom regularly makes vegetable pickles and donates them for langar at the local gurdwara. She’s a bit of a celebrity with the over-70 set. A spoon of her lovingly made condiments reminds them of familiar tastes from childhoods long past and homes far away.