Cucumber pickles

Butylamine occurs naturally in some foods. These include kale (7ppm) pickles cucumbers in aromatic vinegar (0.6 ppm) cucumbers pickled with mustard (5.3 ppm) Tilsiter cheese (3.7ppm) brown bread (1.1 ppm) mulberry leaves fish and seafood. n-Butylamine has been identified as a volatile component of boiled beef. Butylamines have been reported to be a component of animal waste, perhaps from decomposition of manure. 

The commercial use of calcium ion in cucumber pickle products has stimulated efforts to better understand the mechanisms by which calcium affects cucumber texture. Recent results suggest that a high level of pectin methylation has little effect upon the ability of calcium to maintain the firmness of acidified cucumber tissue, while in fermented cucumbers maintenance of a minimum degree of methylation may be important to firmness retention. Efforts are being made to measure calcium binding characteristics in cucumber tissue and to obtain estimates of the effectiveness of calcium ion in inhibiting tissue degradation by pectolytic enzymes. 

Weltfriend E, Kwangsukstith C, Maibach HI (1995) Contact urticaria from cucumber pickle and strawberry. Contact Dermatitis 32 173-174... 

The odour of fermented cucumbers and cucumbers pickled in sour brine is almost exclusively influenced by the odours of the fermentation products used, such as vinegar and spices. 

PROCESSING. Over 70% of the U.S. cucumber and gherkin crop is made into pickles. The major operations utilized in the production of cucumber pickles are (1) fermentation of whole or sliced cucumbers in a concentrated salt solution called a brine (2) soaking of the pickles in hot water to remove some of the salt and (3) canning the pickles in a mixture of vinegar and various seasonings. 

Perez-Diaz, I. M. Kelling, R. E. Hale, S. Breidt, F. McFeeters, R. F. Lactobacilli and tartrazine as causative agents of red-color spoilage in cucumber pickle products. J. FoodSci. 2007, 72, M240-M245. 

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