Study on the Bacterial Community and Quality Changes of Two Kinds of Chilli Peppers during Salting Process

In this study, Jinta and Yanhong chilli peppers from Shandong Province were selected in order to explore the changes of bacterial community and quality of chilli peppers during salting process. Eleven indicators of bacterial community, titratable acid, pH, moisture content, water activity, sodium chloride, reducing sugars, spiciness, organic acids, nucleotides and amino acid nitrogen were monitored in samples of Jinta and Yanhong chilli peppers within 12 weeks during salting. The results showed that the third week of salting of the two kinds of chilli peppers was the inflection point of bacterial dynamic change. Before that, the number of salting beneficial bacteria such as Weisseria spp. and Lactobacillus spp. was high, and after that, the number of Enterobacter spp. increased, possibly because the two peppers were not fermented enough to inhibit the growth of Enterobacter spp.. The fourth week of salting of the two kinds of chilli peppers was the inflection point of quality and flavor change. Before that, the levels of reducing sugars, lactic acid, acetic acid, nucleotides and amino acid nitrogen, which gave good flavour to the salted chilli peppers, were high and the sodium chloride levels were appropriate. Therefore, the optimum salting time for the Jinta and Yanhong chilli peppers was 3 to 4 weeks. And the water activity and the moisture content determine the degree of salting. The water activity and moisture content of Jinta salted chilli pepper were stable at about 0.80 and 69.3%, respectively, which were higher than those of Yanhong salted chilli pepper at 0.78 and 63.5%, so it was speculated that Jinta salted chilli pepper had a higher fermentation degree. This study provided data and technical support for the production optimization of salted chilli pepper processing enterprises and theoretical support for the promotion of high-quality development of salted chilli pepper products.