Sensory characterization of cucumbers pickled with verjuice as novel acidifying agent

•Verjuice was used as acidifying ingredient for pickling in industrial conditions.•Pickles in verjuice were appreciated as the standard commercial product in vinegar.•Verjuice concentration affected pickles’ taste and aroma, not appearance and texture.•Pickles in verjuice showed less issues for reformulation than those in vinegar.•Verjuice is a viable alternative to vinegar for pickled cucumbers. Verjuice is an acidic unfermented unripe grape juice that has recently been proposed as an alternative to vinegar in different food preparations. In this study, pickled cucumber preserves were industrially prepared using two dilutions of verjuice as acidifying agent and compared with the traditional vinegar-pickled samples. Samples were chemically characterized and subjected to sensory analyses using a trained panel and consumers. The different acidifying agents resulted in pickled cucumbers giving different olfactory and gustatory evaluations. No differences in appearance and texture were found. Despite showing chemical and sensory differences, pickles preserved with verjuice and vinegar had similar overall liking scores for visual, olfactory and gustatory aspects. A key feature of pickles prepared with verjuice is their lack of acetic acid potentially conferring them an additional value, suggesting that verjuice represents a viable alternative to vinegar for the production of pickles with distinctive sensorial properties.