Lime pickle is the sour one, and it is the pickle most people meet first in an Indian restaurant. Whole limes cut and salted until the rind softens, then spiced.

Time does the work. A properly matured lime pickle loses its harshness and turns almost mellow, with the bitterness reading as depth rather than a fault.

Eat it with dal and rice, with curd rice, alongside paratha, or with anything plain that needs a jolt. It goes surprisingly well with cheese on toast.

Available at Curry Corner in North Melbourne.