Since pH alone is not a reliable diagnostic 
factor of keeping quality, determinations were 
made of both pH and acidity values. 
As shown in table 5, the pH values were below 
4.6 for all pickled products. Processing had little 
effect on pH of fermented dilled cucumbers, 
crosscut cucumber slices, fresh-pack dilled cucum- 
bers, and pickled pears. The brines, likewise, 
showed little change in pH as the result of 
processing. 
The pH values of fermented dilled cucumbers, 
crosscut cucumber slices, fresh-pack dilled cucum- 
bers, and pickled pears changed very little with 
storage. The pH of both the solids and brine of 
sweet gherkins decreased slightly between 2 to 3 
months and 6 months of storage. There was also 
a slight decrease in the pH of processed dilled green 
beans with storage periods up to6 months. Other 
products investigated changed very little in pH 
with storage. Processing appeared to have little 
effect on changes in pH with storage. 
Acid Content 
The acetic acid in vinegar is essential in presery- 
ing and flavoring pickles (15). <A 0.7-percent 
concentration of acid is usually considered suffi- 
cient for preservation (15). Except for fresh-pack 
dilled cucumbers and pickled pears, which were 
approximately 0.7 percent in acidity, all products 
investigated had mean values well in excess of that 
required (table 6). High acid values were ob- 
tained for horseradish, 2.8 percent, and pepper- 
onion relish, about 2.2 percent (table 6). Acid 
values for piccalilli, corn relish, and dilled green 
beans were also relatively high. 
Determinations made on fermented dilled cu- 
cumbers showed that more than 90 percent of the 
acidity could be accounted for by lactic acid. 
Consequently, acid values of the fermented 
products—dill pickles and sauerkraut—were cal- 
culated as lactic acid. All other values were 
expressed as acetic acid. 
There were slight decreases in acidity of 
processed fermented dills after 2 to 3 months of 
storage (table 6). The acidity of the unprocessed 
pickles was about the same as that of the processed. 
The brine of the unprocessed product was slightly 
higher in acidity than was that of the processed 
pickles. 
Fresh-pack dills showed little change in acidity 
with storage or processing. There were slight 
decreases in acidity of crosscut cucumber slices 
between 2 to 3 months and 6 months of storage. 
Sweet gherkins were relatively high in acid, about 
1.2 percent, and the acidity did not appear to be 
affected by processing or by storage time. The 
acid content of the brine was slightly higher than 
that of the pickle solids. Unprocessed pickled 
pears changed only slightly in acidity with storage. 
10 
Salt Content 
Work by Etchells and Jones (9) and by Pederson 
(15) has demonstrated that use of a low salt brine, 
about 3 to 5 percent sodium chloride for fer- 
mented dills, aided in the rapid formation of a 
high amount of acid and a low pH, whereas the 
use of higher salt brines, 10 percent sodium chloride 
and above, produced a slower rate of acid forma- 
tion, together with increasing rates of gas evolu- 
tion and resultant bloater spoilage. Consequently, 
in the work reported here, a brine of approxi- 
mately 5 percent sodium chloride was used for 
the fermented dills. For sauerkraut, the amount 
of salt used was about 2.4 percent by weight. 
There were slight decreases in salt content of 
fermented and fresh-pack dills with storage 
(table 7). The unprocessed fermented dills were 
slightly higher in salt content than were the 
processed pickles. The salt content of the brine 
was about the same as that of the pickles. The 
salt content of unprocessed dilled green beans 
was somewhat higher than that of the processed. 
For most of the other products investigated, there 
were only slight changes in salt content with 
processing or storage. 
Soluble Solids 
Sugar is used in nearly all pickles. It is of value, 
not only for its influence on flavor, but also be- 
cause of its preservative action. Bell and Etchells 
(3) have proposed the following formula relating 
the amount of acid required for preservation of 
the pickled product to the amount of sugar present: 
4_80-8 
~ 20 
the product, and S=percentage of sugar. In 
work reported here, soluble solids were determined 
by refractometer; it was assumed that the soluble 
solids were chiefly sugars. 
Fermented dill pickles ranged from 7.1 to 8.1 
percent soluble solids (table 8). Processing of the 
pickles had little effect on soluble solids content. 
Values decreased somewhat with storage in fer- 
mented and fresh-pack dills and in dilled green 
beans. Crosscut cucumber slices, sweet gherkins, 
pickled peaches, pickled pears, tomato-apple chut- 
ney and tomato-pear chutney all had soluble solids 
values ranging from about 27 to 45 percent. The 
values did not appear to be influenced greatly by 
processing or by storage time. 
Soluble solids contents of the brines or sirups 
were similar to those of the solids of the pickled 
products. Processing or storage time had little 
effect on amounts present. 
, where A=percentage of acetic acid in 
Texture 
Shear force readings and panel texture scores 
indicated that processing of fermented dill pickles 
