PICKLES

INTRODUCTION
Pickling is a global culinary art. If you were to go on an international foodtasting tour, youd find pickled foods just about everywhere. There are two basic
categories of pickles. The first type includes pickles preserved in vinegar, a strong
acid in which few bacteria can survive. Most of the bottled kosher cucumber pickles
available in the supermarket are preserved in vinegar. The other category includes
pickles soaked in a salt brine to encourages fermentationthe growth of "good"
bacteria that make a food less vulnerable to "bad" spoilage-causing bacteria.
Common examples of fermented pickles include kimchi and many cucumber dill
pickles. In chemical pickling, the jar and lid are first boiled in order to sterilize them.
The fruits or vegetables to be pickled are then added to the jar along with brine
and/or vinegar as well as spices and are then allowed to ferment until the desired
taste is obtained. In commercial pickling, a preservative like sodium benzoate or
EDTA may also be added to enhance shelf life. In fermentation pickling, the food
itself produces the preservation agent, typically by a process that produces lactic
acid. Pickling is not only an international food-preservation technique, its also an
ancient one. For thousands of years, our ancestors have explored ways to pickle
foods, following an instinct to secure surplus food supplies for long lasting. Here we
also try to test what is the best way in making pickle. Another thing that we must
take note, pickle cannot be too much consumed because the World Health
Organization has listed pickled vegetables as a possible carcinogen and the British
Journal of Cancer released an online 2009 review of research on pickles as
increasing the risks of esophageal cancer

METHODOLOGY
Cut the mango into small pieces of the same size. (Almost the same)
Divide the mango into three parts.
Soak the first sample into lime water for 5 minutes, the second sample for 30
minutes and the third sample for 60 minutes.
Remove the mangoes from lime water, and then rinse with tap water.
Divide the first sample into four and add into the container that labeled A, B, C and
D.

container

Contents
A
26.06 g of sugar + 250 ml of water

B
25.37 g of salt + 250 ml of water

C
25.37 g of salt + 26.06 g of sugar + 250 ml of water

D
26.06 g of sugar + 6 pieces of asamboi + 250 ml of water

6. Leave the labeled containers at a dry place for six days

7. Repeat step 4 until 6 by replacing the first sample with the second and third
sample.

DISCUSSION
Ingredients
In the experiment, a different substance was added in each container. Container A
was added with sugar and water, container B was added with salt and water,
container C was added with water, sugar and salt while container D was added with
water, sugar and asamboi.
The pickled in container A was quite tasty because it tasted sweet which came from
the sugar. Sugar plays an important role in the food preservation. This is because
sugar is able to form hydrogen bond with water molecules in which will reduce the
water activity and make the water less favourable for microbial growth. From the
reading, it was found that the winter radish root will appear bright yellow in color
that occurs naturally after the pickling process. The condition for the formation of
yellow pigment is the same as the reaction between thioglucosidase and ascorbic
acid that stimulate the production of yellow pigment (Ozawa et al., 1993). However,

in this case the yellowing or browning of the pickled might be caused by some
errors that were done during conducting the study. The mango might be not soaked
fully in the sugar solution which caused it be exposed to oxygen and oxidized. The
enzyme that responsible for the browning of the mango is polyphenol oxidase. This
enzyme caused the formation of oxidized pigment which is brown in color and
contributed to the color changes in the mango.
The addition of salt in the container B has promoted the growth of bacteria known
as Lactobacillus plantarum. However salt must be added at a correct proportion. If
too much salt was added, the good bacteria will not function properly and too little
salt will promote the growth of less beneficial bacteria.
The pickled in container C has the best taste because it has a balance taste. It was
not too sweet and does not too salty, in fact it has both of the combination of the
tastes.
The solution in container D was quite different from the others, it was added with
asamboi which gave the solution an orange color. The solution was orange in color
because the paticles in asamboi which was orange in color has diffused throughout
the water in the container via simple diffusion. The orange solution has stained the
pickled with an orange color.

Lime Water
Processing is necessary for all pickles and relishes to destroy the yeasts, molds and
bacteria that may cause the product to spoil and also to inactivate enzymes that
could affect color, flavour and texture of the pickled product.
Calcium hydroxide, traditionally called slaked lime, is an inorganic
compound with the chemical formula Ca (OH) 2. It is a colorless crystal or white
powder and is obtained when calcium oxide (called lime or quicklime) is mixed, or
"slaked" with water. It has many names including hydrated lime, builders lime, slack
lime, cal, or pickling lime. It is of low toxicity and finds many applications, including
for food. Because of its low toxicity and the mildness of its basic properties, it is
widely used in the food industry. But here in this experiment we were studying the
effects of this substance on the crunchiness of the pickles. Time for the mango to be
soaked on the lime water was varied; this is to determine the effect of time of
mango soaked in lime water and the crunchiness of the pickles. From the result
obtain we found out that the mango that soaked into the lime water for 1 hour more
crunchy followed by 30 minutes and 5 minutes. Alum may be safely used to firm
fermented pickles. However, it is unnecessary and is not included in the recipes.
The calcium in lime definitely improves pickle firmness. Food-grade lime may be
used as a lime-water solution for soaking fresh mango before pickling them. The
calcium in the lime reacts with the pectic acid in the fruit to form calcium pectate,

which adds to 'crunchiness'. There is already some calcium pectate in mango and
other vegetables. The longer the time it was soaked, the probability for the calcium
in lime reacts with pectic acid also high.
Excess lime absorbed by the mango must be removed to make safe pickles.
To remove excess lime, drain the lime-water solution, rinse, and then resoak the
mango in fresh water for 1 hour. Repeat the rinsing and soaking steps two more
times. To further improve pickle firmness, the mango pickles can be process for 30
minutes in water at 180F. This process also prevents spoilage, but the water
temperature should not fall below 180F. Use a candy or jelly thermometer to check
the water temperature. But this process was not done for this time experiment. But
the crunchiness of the pickles not only depends on this factors but the
concentration of the solution also affect. In order to determine this we were
observing the crunchiest mango within the samples A, B and C. Once we got the
crunchiest one, the comparison between the crunchiest 5 minute, 10 minute and 1
hour was made. We found that the longer the mango soaked into the lime water
crunchier it will be.
Temperature
Temperature is one of the factors affecting the pickling process. Pickling process is
also known as fermentation process. The optimum temperature for fermentation is
around 21 oC. A change of just a few degrees from this temperature modifies the
activity of the microbial process and affects the quality of the final product.
Therefore, temperature control is one of the most important factors in the pickling
process. A temperature of 18 oC to 22 oC is most appropriate for initiating
fermentation since this is the optimum temperature range for the growth and
metabolism of L. mesenteroides. Temperatures above 22 oC favor the growth of
Lactobacillus species. When temperature is low, Leuconostoc mesenteroides
dominates, producing a mix of acids, alcohol, and aroma compounds. At higher
temperatures Lactobacillus plantarum dominates, which produces primarily lactic
acid. Many pickles start with Leuconostoc, and change to Lactobacillus with higher
acidity.[
Otherwise, the temperature above 30 oC will provide pickles become too
soft during fermentation. It is also will cause the excess of microbial growth in the
pickle and formation of bubble will occur. Actually, bubbling in pickles is the
feedback from fermentation process. During fermentation, cultures transform the
fresh fruits into pickles by converting sugars to lactic acid, acetic acid, carbon
dioxide, and other beneficial substances. The bubbling formed in pickles is the
carbon dioxide that released from fermentation process. To reduce the excessive
bubbling formed, pickles can store under refrigerator to slow the fermentation. A
very low temperature makes process of fermentation become more slowly
compared at room temperature. As we mentioned above, the optimum temperature
for fermentation process is around 21 oC, hence when pickles are kept in

refrigerator which is in very low temperature under 21oC, the microbial process will
become slow, and process converting sugar to lactic acid and carbon dioxide also
become slow, this will reduce the formation of bubbles in pickle.
There are some precaution steps during making the pickles. Make sure that using
the different spoon to stir salt or sugar with water and fruit in order to avoid pickles
from being contaminated. Furthermore, we should use boiled water instead of pipe
water to make pickle. Do not use the pipe water because there are microorganisms
that might be caused the growth of bad bacteria and contaminate the pickles.
Concentration
Now, we move to the other factors that makes the pickles crunchier which is
concentration of the solution that the pickles was soaked. There are four different of
concentration in making these pickles. The four solutions that we prepared are:

1. Solution of water and sugar only

2. Solution of water and salt only
3. Solution of water, salt and sugar only
4. Solution of water, sugar and asam boi only
A solution of water and sugar is called syrup. A solution of sodium chloride
(common table salt) in water is called brine. By using different kind of solute
(salt,sugar and asam boi) , it also gave different taste and texture to the pickles.
Based on the results, it showed that the solution of salt give the most
crunchy texture compare to the other. All of the solutions have different
concentration. The lowest concentration is the concentration of sugar solution
(syrup), the middle one is sugar and salt solution and the highest concentration is
the solution of salt (brine). This means that the highest the concentration of pickling
solution, the crunchy the pickles.
Different concentrations contribute to different texture of pickles. This is
because, the concentrated solution contains less amount of water which make the
water from fruit to move out to the outer membrane. When water from fruit move
out, it makes the fruit crunchier. Thus, the more concentrated the solution, the large
amount of water move out from the fruit and the crunchier the pickles.
Although we want to make the crunchiest pickles, we also must consider the
taste of the pickles that we would produce. As the more we add salt into the
solution the pickles, the more salty the taste of pickles. The saltiest the taste, the
decrease the taste of the pickles. Same goes to the sugar solution. Besides, too

much salt and sugar in our food may cause some dangerous diseases which are
hypertension and diabetes.
In this kitchen project also, we add few asam boi in 4th solution for better
taste. Asam boi is to make the pickles taste sourer. It is quite tasty but not as tasty
as the pickles that was soaked in 3rd solution
Calculation
To determine the concentration of the solution that pickles was soaked.

Concentration = number of moles of solute / volume of the solvent

The molecular formula of table sugar is given as C12H22O11 = 342.30 g/mol

The molecular formula of common salt is given as NaCl = 54.44 g/mol

The solutions are as followed:

1. Solution of water and sugar only

Mass of sugar = 25.37 g

No of mole of sugar = 25.37 g / 342.30 gmol-1 = 0.074 mole
Volume of water = 0.25 L
Molarity of sugar solution = 0.074 mole/ 0.25 L = 0.296 M

2. Solution of water and salt only

Mass of salt = 26.059 g

No of mole of salt = 26.059 g / 54.4 gmol-1 = 0.4786 mole

Volume of water = 0.25 L

Molarity of sugar solution = 0.4786 mole/ 0.25 L = 1.915 M

3. Solution of water, salt and sugar only

Mass of sugar + salt = 52.01 g

No of mole of sugar = 52.01 g / 396.74 gmol-1 = 0.131 mole
Volume of water = 0.25 L
Molarity of sugar solution = 0.131 mole/ 0.25 L = 0.524 M

CONCLUSION
The longer the mango is soaked into the lime water the crunchier it will be. This is
because the calcium in the lime reacts with the pectic acid in the fruit to form
calcium pectate, which adds to 'crunchiness'. When concentration of solution
increase, the texture of mango pickled become crunchier due to the process of
osmosis. This process occurs because of the tendency of substance to move
through membrane from high concentration water molecule to low concentration of
water molecule. In this case, water molecule inside mango flows out to the solution
since it has lower water molecule concentration than the water molecule
concentration inside mango. The flowing out of water molecule from mango makes
the pickled become crunchier.