Effects of adding garlic juice on pickled Chinese cabbage

Abstract:

[Objective] To study the effects of adding different concentrations of garlic juice on the fermentation of pickled Chinese cabbage. [Methods] The physicochemical indicators and OD₆₀₀ during the fermentation process were measured, and the effects of garlic juice concentration on the richness, community structure, and abundance of bacteria during the fermentation were studied with natural fermentation as the control. The 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing was carried out in the late fermentation stage for the pickled Chinese cabbage samples with the addition of garlic juice at different concentrations. Fuzzy mathematics-based evaluation was conducted for the sensory quality of garlic-flavored samples to select the lactic acid bacterial strains with excellent fermentation performance. [Results] Different concentrations of garlic juice had minor effects on the pH and OD₆₀₀ but significantly reduced the peak value of nitrite. Adding 0.2%–0.4% garlic juice was beneficial for the growth of Lactiplantibacillus, and the species richness of the product fermented with the addition of garlic juice was higher than that of the naturally fermented product. The fermentation liquid with the addition of 0.3% garlic juice had the highest species richness, with much higher number of genera than other concentration groups. The product from fermentation with 0.3% garlic juice showcased the best quality, presenting better sensory quality and appearance. The product with high species richness and a large number of genera had good sensory quality. A strain of lactic acid bacteria with excellent fermentation performance was screened out and identified as Lactiplantibacillus pentosus, which produced the most acids during fermentation, had the highest nitrite degradation rate, and exhibited tolerance to garlic. [Conclusion] This study provides a strain for the development of lactic acid bacteria fermentation agents and lays a theoretical foundation for the industrialization of garlic-flavored pickled Chinese cabbage.