Patak’s forced to revert to original lime pickle recipe after outcry

By Saffron Alexander  –  The Telegraph

Indian food producer Patak’s has  been forced to revert back to its old recipe after the launch of a new version of their lime pickle angered fans.

The ‘improved’ recipe, which contained less oil, extra lime in smaller chunks, and more kalonji seeds than the original, was introduced early last year to the disappointment of curry fans.

One reviewer on Amazon wrote: “Used to be the best lime pickle you could get, recently they have changed the recipe so it now tastes like baby vomit. Flavour, smell and texture all now terrible. Avoid!” Another said: “They have changed the recipe so avoid this product like the plague – it is disgusting in every way. Would liked to have given it zero stars as that is what it deserves.”

In response to the backlash, Patak’s has backtracked, annoucing that are going back to using the old recipe.

In a post on Facebook the company wrote: “Here at Patak’s we pride ourselves on helping people create great tasting Indian meals at home by making quality products. From time to time though, we seek to improve our products.

“As our new recipe lime pickle started hitting the shelves, Patak’s Lime Pickle lovers began to get in touch with us to let us know they actually really liked it the way it was before. And as our loyal customers passionately continued to tell us this over the coming months, it became clear that we may have been too hasty in updating this product.”

Fans have taken to the Facebook page to express their gratitude for the company listening to their request.

Russell Turner left the company a heartfelt message saying he felt “teary eyed” once he realised the change had been implemented.

Patak’s mixed and mango pickles also had a recipe change in early 2015, but the company has decided not to revert back to the original. A spokesman for the company told The Guardian that “customer unrest was muted over those products”.