You can find many different scientific and academic definitions about pickles. But in its closest form, it is the process of fermenting vegetables and fruits in brine, which is a mixture of salt and vinegar, in other words, fermentation.
So why is such a process needed? Pickled vegetables and fruits are products that grow in certain months of the year (usually in summer and autumn). In order to consume vegetables and fruits in periods when they are not grown, they need to be preserved and preserved until these periods. One of these protection methods is the fermentation method.
Canning (heat treatment), freezing is another method applied. In these methods, vegetables and fruits are either stored for cooking purposes or preserved in their own taste and aroma and physical properties. In the fermented method, pickles, the taste and aroma of the vegetables change. In particular, its salty and sour aroma adds to the pickle as a seasoning and appetizing garnish. The oldest known preservation method for preserving fruits and vegetables is fermentation, ie pickle making.
General rules on storage of fermented products and prolongation of their durability also apply to pickles. The most important of these; ambient temperature, cut off contact with air, cut off contact with light. Therefore, the environment where pickles are stored or displayed in markets, grocery stores and homes should not be too hot. The average room temperature is the appropriate temperature. The storage time of the pickle is directly proportional to its contact with air. The ability to maintain freshness and freshness for a long time can be achieved by minimizing contact with air.
Fermentation In the simplest form, pickling of high molecular substances, especially carbohydrates, by microorganisms into smaller molecules can be described as pickling. Fermentation is based on the disintegration of glucose in the cell cytoplasm without the use of O2 and obtaining energy.
There are two kinds of fermentation
- Lactic acid fermentation: The breakdown of glucose into lactic acid.
- Ethyl alcohol fermentation: The breakdown of glucose into ethyl alcohol.
Fermentation is divided into two groups, depending on whether or not oxygen is involved in the reaction:
Anoxidative fermentation: lactic acid fermentation, ethyl alcohol fermentation, propionic acid fermentation and butyric acid fermentation.
Oxidative fermentation, acetic acid fermentation, citric acid fermentation, oxalic acid fermentation and fumaric acid fermentation.
Pickle is a product of lactic acid fermentation. Lactic acid fermentation is carried out by lactic acid bacteria present in the natural microflora on the surface of vegetables and fruits.
Rendering of vegetables and fruits with lactic acid fermentation is an application with several advantages. First of all, after the fermentation of the fruits and vegetables, the flavor and structure are pleasant. Thanks to the lactic acid formed, the degradation of the product is prevented and it can be stored for a long time without significant losses in nutritional value.
Light is also one of the factors that lose the freshness and color of pickles. That is why we recommend that our consumers consume as much packed pickles as possible.