Effect of KCl replacement of NaCl on fermentation kinetics, organic acids and sensory quality of sauerkraut from Northeast China

Abstract

Sauerkraut is a globally consumed fermented vegetable, especially in Asia (Torres et al., 2020). It has been reported that sauerkraut fermentation is a traditional way to preserve vegetables, which has a long history dating back to the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China (Guan et al., 2020;Xiao et al., 2020). As a well-known traditional and typical fermented vegetable, northeast sauerkraut is very popular and consumed in northern China for its flavor and is rich in nutritious substances such as organic acids, amino acids, and vitamins (Kong et al., 2016;Torres et al., 2020;Xiong et al., 2012). Sauerkraut is made from Chinese cabbage with salt or brine and involves the complex biotechnological processes by microorganisms present in the raw materials such as lactic acid bacteria (LAB), yeast, and other bacteria or fungi (Liang, He, Wang, Song, Chen, Lin, Ji, & Li, 2020a).Sodium chloride (NaCl) has an essential function in terms of safety, sensory, and shelf life parameters in fermented or dry-cured food products (Armenteros et al., 2012;Lin et al., 2021), and it is reported that the salt concentration could influence the texture, color, and flavor of the fermented vegetables (Liang, He, Wang, Song, Chen, Lin, Ji, & Zhang, 2020b;Seo et al., 2018). Usually, traditionally produced sauerkraut contains as much as 2%-8% (w/w) NaCl (He et al., 2020;Yang et al., 2022), which can not only inhibit harmful microorganisms but also provide a suitable metabolic environment for the growth

Exploring potential correlations between bacterial communities, organic acids, and volatile metabolites of traditional fermented sauerkraut collected from different regions of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China

“…Sauerkraut’s sour taste is primarily attributed to the organic acids produced by microbial metabolism, including lactic acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, and succinic acid. These organic acids not only have their own flavors, but they are also precursors for the synthesis of other flavor compounds ( Li et al, 2022 ).…”

Detection of the Inoculated Fermentation Process of Apo Pickle Based on a Colorimetric Sensor Array Method

“…After 1 day of fermentation, the acetic acid content increased rapidly ( p < 0.05) by 3.78 mg/mL and then started to decrease and maintain a level of approximately 3.0 mg/mL. This is because the acetic acid in the fermentation process reacts with alcohol to produce esters that improve the flavor of pickles [ 37 ]. Lactic acid increased ( p < 0.05) to 3.64 mg/mL after 2 days of fermentation and then slowly increased ( p > 0.05) to 4.17 mg/mL after 7 days of fermentation, after which it decreased.…”

High-throughput characterization of the effect of sodium chloride and potassium chloride on 31 lactic acid bacteria and their co-cultures

“…The effect of substituting NaCl with KCl for LAB in food products, although extensively studied (Hoffmann et al, 2019;Gan et al, 2021;Li et al, 2022) has mainly focused on a few species or only on total counts of LAB, thus overlooking the specific effects of salts on each strain. Similarly, the effect of salt stress on microbial interactions among LAB is not well understood in this context.…”