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Fermentation Atlas

Vegetables from USA and worldwide pickle industry

Commercial bulk fermented cucumbers (full-sour salt stock)

firm, fully sour fermented cucumbers used for pickles and relish. Made in 5 steps over 12 months – 13 months. The longest step, bulk storage, takes up to 12 months (McFeeters R.F. and Pérez-Díaz I.M). Salt is 6 % (McFeeters R.F. and Pérez-Díaz I.M). Lactobacillus plantarum and Leuconostoc spp. do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepup to 12 monthsReported[ars-p366]Bulk storage
Salt6 %Reported[ars-p366]Cover brine
AciditypH up to 3.5Reported[ars-p415]Primary fermentation
DocumentedVegetables12 months – 13 monthsMore vegetablesMore from United States

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
pickling cucumbers
NaCl brine
CaCl2
Starter: spontaneous or defined-culture (L. plantarum)

Total time across the recorded steps: 12 months – 13 months

Start
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What changes: Starting material: pickling cucumbers loaded into open-top tanks

Step 1 of 5
Load cucumbers into open-top tanks
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
L. plantarum
Lactobacillus plantarum
Leuconostoc spp.
Pediococcus spp.
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

Variants

  • Low-salt CaCl2 cover brineUSDA brine of Ca(OH)2, 0.26% CaCl2, 2% NaCl and acetic acid to pH 4.7; 100–300 mM CaCl2 alone keeps firmness
  • MDC-deficient starterL. plantarum without malic decarboxylase reduces bloaters

Safety

Spoilage by yeasts and acid-tolerant bacteria can raise pH after fermentation.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

  1. [s1] USDA-ARS Food Science Research Unit, Raleigh; Pickle Pubs p306, p366, p415; Fermented Veg Manuscripts p419, p435gov
  2. [s2] USDA-ARS fermented and acidified vegetables bibliographygov
  3. [ars-p366] McFeeters R.F. and Pérez-Díaz I.M., USDA-ARS Pickle Pubs p366 (cover brine of 1.03 M NaCl; up to 12% in cold climates; bulk storage)gov
  4. [ars-p415] USDA-ARS Pickle Pubs p415 (calcium cover brine; terminal pH; microbes)gov
  5. [ars-p434] USDA-ARS Fermented Veg Manuscripts p434 (open-top tanks of 28,000–40,000 L; air purging)gov