Fermentation of Low-salt Pickled Radish by Pure Strains of Lactobacillus plantarum

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.