Fermentation of cucumbers without sodium chloride

Cucumbers were successfully fermented and stored in the absence of sodium chloride (salt) under laboratory conditions, provided the fruit were blanched (3 min, 77 degrees C) before brining in a calcium acetate buffer and the brine inoculated with Lactobacillus plantarum. Bloater formation was prevented by blanching even when brines were not purged of CO2. Firmness of cucumbers was similar in salt-free brines or those containing salt after 1 mo, but firmness of salt-free cucumbers was lower after storage for 12 mos. Under pilot-scale, commercial conditions, however, the cucumbers were severely bloated, and the firmness was unacceptable after storage for 7 mo, due apparently to microbial recontamination after blanching