Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Raleigh, North Carolina » Food Science Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #130813
Title: EFFECTS OF FRUIT SIZE ON FRESH CUCUMBER COMPOSITION AND THE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL CONSEQUENCES OF FERMENTATION

Author
item LU, Z - NCSU
item Fleming, Henry
item McFeeters, Roger

Submitted to: Journal of Food Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/11/2002
Publication Date: 8/1/2002
Citation: Lu, Z., Fleming, H.P., McFeeters, R.F. 2002. Effects of fruit size on fresh cucumber composition and the chemical and physical consequences of fermentation. Journal of Food Science. 67:2934-2939.

Interpretive Summary: The chemical composition of pickling cucumbers greatly influences the quality and storage stability of the fruit when it is fermented in a brine solution. In this research we determined the content of various sizes of fresh cucumbers as to sugars, acids, and dry matter. These components were found to greatly influence the level of lactic acid formed by the lactic aid bacterium strain that was used to ferment the cucumbers. Firmness and gaseous spoilage varied among the cucumber sizes tested. The information learned will be useful in designing controlled fermentation processes that are environmentally sensitive and economically feasible for use by farmers and processors of cucumbers preserved by brine fermentation.

Technical Abstract: The composition of pickling cucumbers varied with fruit size, which affected buffer capacity, sugar utilization, terminal pH, and texture of the fermented fruit. As cucumber size increased (greater than less than 27-51 mm in diam), malic acid, pH, buffer capacity, and dry matter content decreased, and glucose and fructose content increased. Fruit firmness and bloater damage were greater in large than in small, fermented, whole cucumbers. Blanching (75C, 30 s) had little effect on the fermentation and prevention of bloater formation in finished products, regardless of fruit sizes. It was demonstrated that cucumber juice fermentation can serve as a model system and provide valuable information for developing strategies for controlled cucumber fermentations with different fruit sizes using lactic acid bacteria starter cultures.