Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the effects of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) fermentation on the texture and organic acid of pickled cucumbers. Texture and sensory evaluation as well as a microscopic observation were performed to study the textural differences among fresh cucumber, Spontaneous fermentation (SF) cucumber and LAB Inoculating Fermentation (LABIF) cucumber. Accumulation of seven organic acids i.e., oxalic, tartaric, malic, lactic, acetic, citric and succinic acid during cucumber pickling were also studied. The disruption extent of the middle lamella in SF cucumber displayed more obviously than that in LABIF cucumber, implying that LABIF contributed to keep the cucumber original structure intact. Based on the organic acid accumulation pattern, in SF LAB and Acetic Acid Bacteria (AAB) fermented simultaneously, while in LABIF LAB fermented beforehand thus being in dominant position, then AAB fermented vigorously in a acidic condition created by LAB. The acetic acid accumulaton pattern could be regarded as the distinctive feature between SF and LABIF. The orgnic acids produced in LABIF were higher than that in SF. The final score of sensory evaluation combining texture analysis demonstrated that LABIF overmatched SF. It was concluded that LABIF could obviously enhance the quality of pickled cucumber and overwhelming SF, due to LABIF more beneficial to keep the cucumber original structure intact and organic acids accumulation.
Highlights
IntroductionTexture of pickled vegetables was one of the most important factors determining consumer’s eating satisfaction (Kohyama et al, 2009; Buscher et al, 2011; Suojala-Ahlfors, 2005)
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is an important vegetable in China
Firmness and sensory score: The firmness and sensory evaluation of cucumbers was shown in Table 1 and 2
Summary
Texture of pickled vegetables was one of the most important factors determining consumer’s eating satisfaction (Kohyama et al, 2009; Buscher et al, 2011; Suojala-Ahlfors, 2005). To evaluate the texture of cucumbers objectively, puncture test was used by many researchers to quantify the firmness (Sakurai et al, 2005; Sakata et al, 2011). It is not easy to characterize the texture by a simple puncture test for the reason that cucumber is highly heterogeneous and anisotropic in mechanical properties within a fruit (Kohyama et al, 2009). Mechanical tests together with direct human measurements could illustrate cucumber texture comprehensively. Microscopic observation of pickled cucumber tissue could show intuitively the characteristic of texture
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