Papaya Pickles (Atsara or Achara) Recipe

28 Dec 2013

Papaya pickles or Papaya Atsara or Achara is a sweet and tangy condiment popular in the Philippines.

Summary

Yield	Large Jars
Prep time	45 minutes
Cooking time
Total time	45 minutes

Description

In the U.S., Papaya Pickles is an equivalent of Sauerkraut, only to my opinion, this one tastes better.

Ingredients

>>> FOR PAPAYA

5 c

grated green papayas (or slightly ripe and still more crunchy)

3 T

salt to dehydrate grated papayas

>>> FOR VEGETABLES

3 c

grated carrots

2 c

red onion, thinly sliced

1⁄2 c

garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 c

red bell pepper, julienned

1⁄2 c

ginger, julienned

>>> FOR SUGAR-VINEGAR BRINE

3 t

salt

3 c

brown sugar

5 c

natural white coconut vinegar

Instructions

In a container, dredge grated papaya with salt and incorporate well. Cover and refrigerate papaya/let set for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Place salted papaya in a colander or strainer and rinse with running water while stirring it by hand so that the salts are washed off. Keep rinsing until the salty taste in papaya is washed off (you may try to taste a piece to check out). Squeeze out water from papaya until no liquid runs out. You may use cheesecloth to ease you with squeezing away the liquid.

In a heavy pot, mix together the sugar-vinegar brine ingredients. Heat and let boil for 10 minutes with constant stirring, allowing all the sugars to dissolve. Remove brine from heat and let warm (around 98 degree F).

Mix all the vegetable ingredients and prepared papaya in the prepared brine. Place in a jar and cover tightly, then store in refrigerator for up to two months. The longer the pickles set in the jar, the more its taste gets enhanced.

Pickles are great to serve with roasted meats, and even to top in hotdogs. I had also tried this with my Tropical Pastrami Wraps (recipe coming soon).