Sometime last year, I sent out a tweet for the vinegar-sugar ratio for achara, and Caroline tweeted back almost instantaneously: 3 to 1. In the Philippines, we traditionally pickle shredded green papayas though here in the US, I seldom see green papayas at the market.
Back in the old country, the kitchen crew usually prepares vats of shredded green papayas a few days before the town fiesta (a feast coinciding with the town’s patron saint’s feast day). A few days before the town fiesta, friends from the neighboring town would come visit and give baskets and crates of ingredients for cooking! In return, they come home with a few jars of achara, and they get invited to return on the actual feast day. I love this tradition.
Ingredients
- a basket of peppers
- a few cloves of garlic
- 6 cups distilled vinegar
- 2 cups sugar
Directions
- Wash, seed, and slice peppers.
- Fill mason jars with the sliced peppers and a few garlic gloves each jar.
- Boil vinegar and sugar together, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves.
- Turn heat off, and let pickling liquid cool completely.
- Fill mason jars with pickling liquid almost to the brim and seal. Let peppers marinate overnight before consuming. Refrigerate.
- Serve achara alongside grilled or fried fish, meat, and poultry. I often eat achara straight from the jar.
Caroline blogs here and your may also follow her on Twitter.
Note
- Saint Peter of Verona is the patron saint of Hermosa, Bataan. You may read about his life here.
