Susceptibility of Pickling Cucumbers to Bloater Damage by Carbonation

The susceptibility of pickling cucumbers to bloater damage was studied by artificial carbonation of brined cucumbers with mixtures of CO 2 in N 2 . Bloater damage was induced within a few hours by carbonation of heated and unheated cucumbers, independent of microbial growth, suggesting that a physical‐chemical mechanism causes bloating. Evidence indicated, however, that biological factors may also influence bloating. Unheated, brined cucumbers bloated only slightly when carbonation was begun immediately after brining, or about a month or longer after brining. The cucumbers bloated extensively, however, when carbonation was begun between about 1 and 30 days after brining. Damage was more closely associated with % saturation than with concentration of dissolved CO 2 . Serious bloater damage was prevented when CO 2 in brines was maintained below 50% saturation. Bloater damage resulted within a few hours, however, if brine CO 2 greatly exceeded this level. Cucumbers varied in tolerance to CO 2 before development of serious damage. The method herein reported for controlling levels of CO 2 in the brine may be useful in further study of factors that influence the susceptibility of cucumbers to bloater damage.