Drying and Pickling of Cucumber Slices

PRACHI PAHARIYA; ALKA MISHRA; RUPLAL CHOUDHARY; LALITA .

doi:10.21921/jas.v10i01.12259

PRACHI PAHARIYA School of Agricultural Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, USA
ALKA MISHRA Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, India
RUPLAL CHOUDHARY School of Agricultural Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, USA
LALITA . Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21921/jas.v10i01.12259

Keywords: Drying, pickling, water activity, moisture content, pH, storage

Abstract

Drying and pickling are the most ancient and effective methods to preserve food which are used so far. In particular, drying cucumber slices using a dehydrator has been shown to significantly reduce their moisture content from 89% w.b. to 4.5% w.b. and lower their water activity from 0.98 to 0.17, making them safe from microbial activity. Moreover, storing these dried cucumber slices for up to 9 days did not result in any significant increase in water activity. The cucumber slices also pickled using different vinegar solutions. It has been observed that with increase in storage period pH of the solution as well as pickles decreases. Vinegar concentration of 480 and 600 ml have shown similar trend. This study showed that drying and pickling can be used to preserve cucumber slices for longer period