GHERKIN PROCESSING

Gherkin (Cucumus anguria) is a mini cucumber for common man. It is the native of Africa and has occupied a place of its own in the international market.

The crop is slightly spiny as compared to cucumber. It is much liked as a pickle and as a mix in green salad in the western countries. As for its nutritional value is concerned, it compares with regular cucumber. Gherkins are rich in calcium, iron, potash, vitamin A, B1, B2 and C in high calories.

Gherkin - Cucumis sativus L.

Family: Cucurbitaceae

or pickling cucumber was introduced into India in 1990 for exports. Among Gherkin growers it is commonly known as small cucumber.

Fresh Gherkin is preserved in three different media depending on the customers choice and exported to Europe, USA , Australia and other countries. GHERKIN CULTIVATION The gherkin cultivation is mainly concentrated in Tropical, Central and South America and West Indies.

 The European gherkin is not a distinct species of cucumis, but a small form of cucumber which is also known to be pickling cucumbers. However, in produce and trade, the term gherkin refers to any immature cucumber fruit usually pickled GHERKIN IN INDIA Gherkins have been recently introduced in India for commercial production mainly for exports. The credit for introducing cultivation of gherkins in Karnataka for processing and export in preserved from goes to a few private firms started during 1991. These firms studied market price extensively in European countries and found that there was very good demand for preserved gherkins in European markets. The private companies introduced this crop during 1991 around white field near Bangalore importing seeds and distributing them among a few farmers, who were given the necessary inputs to cultivate the crop.

The commercial production of gherkin started in India during 1993.

In the last three years, Karnataka has stood first as the biggest exporter of preserved gherkins with a share of over 90 per cent in total export of preserved gherkins from India. Grading mechanism of gherkins After harvest the gherkin fruits are graded suitably before these are marketed. Three different grades have been specified for the fruits.

 Grading of the fruits is very much essential as the grades will determine the prices of gherkins. Details of the grades are as below-

Grad e

Harvesting time (days after flowering) 6-7 7-9 9-11

Length of Weight No of fruit of fruit fruits / kg (cm) (gm) 3.5-4 4-5 5-6.50 3.336.25 6.258.33 8.3312.5 160-300 120-160 80-120

Grad e1 Grad e2 Grad e3

Quick Sweet Gherkin Pickle

8 lbs of 3- to 4-inch pickling Gherkins.

13 cup canning or pickling salt 412 cups sugar 312 cups vinegar (5%) 2 tsp celery seed 1 tbsp whole allspice 2 tbsp mustard seed

Yields 7 pints

Procedure-

Leave 14 inch of stem ends ofGherkins attached. Slice or cut in strips,if desired. Place in bowl and sprinklewith 13 cup of salt. Cover with 2 inches of crushed or cubed ice. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours. Add more ice as needed. Drain well. Combine sugar, vinegar, celery seed, allspice, and mustard seed in a 6-quart pot to make pickling syrup. Heat to boiling. HARVESTING OF GHERKINS Workers need to know which Gherkins are to be harvested and what end use they will have. Harvesting needs to be carried out in dry weather and cool temperatures, hence in the early morning. Gherkins must be picked with clean hands and twisted gently off a plant and not be squeezed or damaged by fingernails. Gherkin must be gently placed in the container and not thrown in or dropped. Containers ,nylon net bags, plastic buckets, or wood or plastic crates must be clean. Picking containers should never be too full.

 The small picking containers used by labour need to be emptied into larger containers in the field. Larger containers need to be wide, shallow and stackable to avoid excessive weight. never too many Gherkins should be piled on top of one another.

PACKING Reject bent fruit and marked fruit. Wipe off sand and dust of Continental fruit. Wash Lebanese fruit and dip in a calcium hypochlorite solution which contains 2 ppm chlorine to prevent fruit breakdown. Remove old flower parts at the end of the fruit. To avoid condensation, cool the fruit to 7 to 13 C before wrapping. Shrink-wrap fruit of Continental varieties individually in polythene film to increase their shelf life and enhance their appearance. A sticker can be placed over the wrapped fruit.

STORAGE OF CUCUMBER

Wrapped Gherkins should be kept at 10 to 150C and 95% relative humidity for 1 to 2 weeks.

Unwrapped fruit have a storage life of only 2 to 3 days.

 Do not store Gherkins with fruit that produce ethylene, such as mangoes and bananas. This will produce yellowing and spotting on the skins.