PURPOSE

To practice the production of cucumber pickling. By the way, to measure some parameters of the pickle.

THEORY

Pickle is a product that produced from vegetables and fruits are fermented by lactic acid bacteria in a brine has a specific salt concentration or in their self juice. Any kind of vegetables and fruits can be used for pickling. But, in whole world the most known and manufactured pickle type is cucumber pickle.

Lactic acid fermentation is the most important step occurs in the pickling. The fermentation occurs in anaerobic conditions, generally at 18-20 OC, for 2-8 weeks according to pickle’s content. While fermentation occurs, there is a transition between brine and raw material. The salt in brine passes into raw material and various compounds in raw material like minerals, sugars, and nitrogenous substances pass into brine. Lactic acid bacteria ferment the sugars.

Lactic acid bacteria ferment sugars with different pathways. Homofermentative lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum etc.) which are dominant in fermentation use the EMP pathway and produce only lactic acid. This kind of bacteria forms almost all lactic acid and end the fermentation. Heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (Leuconostoc mesentereoides etc.) which generally start the fermentation use the HMP pathway and produce lactic acid, ethanol, CO2, acetic acid. Thanks to other compounds exception lactic acid by formed these bacteria; the pickle gets its taste and flavor.

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