Lipid Alterations During the Fermentation of Dill Pickles

Analyses of various lipid fractions of sections of cucumbers and of good and bloated dill pickles showed that marked changes occur in all lipid fractions during fermentation. The most striking difference noted was the decrease in the phospholipid fraction. A nearly fourfold increase in free fatty acid, as well as a marked increase in the neutral fat fatty acids and unsaponifiables, occurred. Gas chromatographic analyses of the methyl esters of fatty acids from the various lipid fractions yielded further interesting data. From the analyses, 41 esters were identified; however, 16 of the esters accounted for at least 95% of the acids. Among the marked changes were the increases in linoleic and linolenic acids in good pickles, in contrast to the increase in oleic acid in the bloated pickles. The presence of tridecenoic acid in cucumbers, and its absence in pickles; and the absence of caproic, caprylic, and capric acids in cucumbers, and its presence in pickles, were interesting. The data demonstrated that the lipid alterations that occur during fermentation of cucumbers are analogous to those previously reported for the sauerkraut fermentation.