Bedekar's Avakkai Mango Pickle - 400g

I ordered both the Bedekar Avakkai Mango Pickle and the Vandu Mango Pickle as I was not sure which would taste like the culinary delight a college roommate introduced to me years ago. Both jars came intact and packaged well. I found the Avakkai is the one I remember. I am so happy to have found it that I just ordered another jar because it will become a fixture at the table. The Vandu is a bit spicy for my family but friends will find it perfect. Life is good!This is a delicious taste of heaven from the Andarah Padesh region of India where my roommate was from so do not let what I am going to share deter you from this delicacy. But I would be remiss if I did not share to use caution in eating it as I found pieces of the pit still attached to the mango. Now I take an extra step to check every spoonful before I enjoy the goodness.Here are some tidbits I learned that might help understand the hardness and tartness of the mangoes. The mangoes used for making mango pickles are raw and green. They are not meant to be eaten without pickling and they are not sweet. In fact, some mangoes are particularly bred for pickling as they are hard and sour and do not ripen quickly. My understanding is that the longer the mangoes age in the mixture, the softer and tastier they will get. A friend told me his Grandmother made mango pickles and after four weeks, they were ready to eat but still hard. She said the longer you leave them on a cool dark shelf until they soften the better they are but often family cannot wait as they prefer the spiced mixture the mangoes are in. She would go in each night and shake them a bit to mix the spices to help the process for those she wanted to use more quickly and leave those she wanted to last longer alone. She said you can leave the jar on the shelf even after it is opened if clean utensils are used in removing content from the jar. Once the mangoes soften, the jar will need to be refrigerated.