Abstract:

In order to find an appropriate starter for the fermentation of pickled radish, four pure strains of
Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from traditionally pickled radish were used for the fermentation of fresh radish and
compared with Lactobacillus planterum B110 and naturally fermented pickle. The results indicated that Lactobacillus
plantarum STW-4 was the best culture starter due to the shorter fermentation time and lower nitrite content. The
fermentation conditions were optimized and as a result, the fermentation cycle was reduced to 60 h from 7 days when
compared with naturally fermented pickle under the conditions of 2% inoculation, room temperature and 8 g/100 mL salt.
In order to reduce the salt concentration but not destroy the brittleness, Lactobacillus plantarum STW-4 was inoculated
in the presence of 4 g/100 mL salt, and the brittleness of pickled turnips was 22.98 N, which revealed an improvement
from 15.67 N. This improvement may be related to the increased water loss and the inhibited activities of pectinase and
cellulose under a high salt concentration.

Key words: Lactobacillus plantarum, low-salt, pickled radish, brittleness