Influence of gamma radiations on the microflora of cucumber fruit and blossoms

Pure Culture Fermentation of Brined Cucumbers

The relative abilities of Pediococcus cerevisiae, Lactobacillus plantarum, L. brevis, and several other species of lactic acid bacteria to grow and produce acid in brined cucumbers were evaluated in pure culture fermentations. Such fermentations were made possibly by the use of two techniques, gamma radiation (0.83 to 1.00 Mrad) and hot-water blanching (66 to 80 C for 5 min), designed first to rid the cucumbers of naturally occurring, interfering, and competitive microbial groups prior to brining, followed by inoculation with the desired lactic acid bacteria. Of the nine species tested, strains of the three common to cucumber fermentations, P. cerevisiae, L. plantarum, and L. brevis, grew to the highest populations, and produced the highest levels of brine acidity and the lowest pH values in fermentations at 5.4 to 5.6% NaCl by weight; also, their sequence of active development in fermentations, with the use of a three-species mixture for inoculation, was in the species order just named. This sequence of occurrence was similar to that estimated by others for natural fermentations. The rates of growth and acid production in fermentations with a mixture of P. cerevisiae, L. plantarum, and L. brevis increased as the incubation temperature was increased from 21 to 27 to 32 C; however, the maximal populations and acidities attained were essentially the same for fermentations at each temperature. Further, these same three species were found to be the most salt tolerant of those tested; their upper limit for appreciable growth and measurable acid production was about 8% salt, whereas thermophilic species such as L. thermophilus, L. lactis, L. helveticus, L. fermenti, and L. delbrueckii exhibited a much lower salt tolerance, ranging from about 2.5 to 4.0%. However, certain strains of L. delbrueckii grew very rapidly in cucumbers brined at 2.5 to 3.0% salt, and produced sufficient acid in about 30 hr at 48 C to reduce the brine pH from above 7.0 to below 4.0. An inexpensive, pure culture fermentor which was suitable for gamma radiation, resistant to salt and acid, and which permitted repeated aseptic sampling of the fermenting brine, is illustrated and the specifications are given.

Influence of temperature and humidity on microbial, enzymatic, and physical changes of stored, pickling cucumbers

Pickling cucumbers stored at five temperatures and four relative humidities were examined for growth of eight microbial groups, the activities of two enzyme systems (pectinolytic and cellulolytic), and weight loss. Twenty-four storage tests for 6 days each were conducted during the 2-year study. In general, microbial populations of the eight groups increased rapidly at the higher temperature (>21 C) and humidity (>70%) treatments. Moisture loss of the cucumbers was rapid with combinations of high temperatures and low humidities. The results suggest that the best environmental conditions for storage or transport of cucumbers would be a combination of low temperature (10 C) with high relative humidity (about 95%). These conditions minimized undesirable microbial, enzymatic, and physical changes of stored, pickling cucumbers.