Effect of Sterilization Methods on the Quality of Low-salt Pickled Cucumber

The effects of different sterilization methods on crispness-keeping and quality of low-salt pickled cucumber were studied. Low-salt pickled cucumber from Guangxi was used as the raw materials, and the effects of pasteurization, microwave sterilization, and ozone sterilization on bacteria number, hardness, color, nitrite, sodium chloride, total acid, total sugar, V_C and sensory evaluation were determined. Results indicated that, the best sterilization conditions for pasteurization of 85℃ 15 min, 650 W 15 s for microwave sterilization and 50 mg/m³ 40 min for ozone sterilization could ensure the low-salt pickled cucumber with better hardness and does not bulge bag within 90 d. Under these conditions, the ozone sterilization caused minimal impact on brittleness, color, total acid, and total sugar of low-salt pickled cucumber, its brittleness could reach 295.75 g. And the nitrite contents was the lowest (0.31 mg/kg), and the V_C contents and sensory evaluation were the highest (0.11 g/100 g and 90.45 score).In conclusion, the ozone sterilization could effectively inactivate the microorganism and maintain the quality of low-salt pickled cucumber, and had certain potential applications in industrial sterilization.