PREPARATION OF SAUERKRAUT AND STUDY OF ITS REHYDRATION PROPERTIES

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to prepare the sauerkraut from locally grown (Sindhuwa, Nepal) Taiwanese cabbage (confirmed to be Brassica oleracea L.var capitata)and evaluate its quality. The cabbage was shredded to ̴ 3-4 mm which is the standard size for sauerkraut and fermented at different brine concentration (2%, 2.25% and 2.5%) for 9, 12 and 15 days for each brine fermentation respectively. The sauerkraut were analyzed in terms of pH, acidity, TSS, reducing sugar and vitamin C for 15 days at every 3 days of time interval. After the completion of fermentation it was dried and rehydrated to study the rehydration property. A descriptive sensory panel used category scales to rate the flavor, colour, taste, appearance and overall acceptability of dehydrated and rehydrated sauerkrauts samples. Acidity was found to increase with fermentation time. pH and vitamin C decreased with increase in fermentation time and the decreasing rate declined with increase in brine concentration. TSS increased as the both brine concentration and fermentation time increased. Coefficient of rehydration was found to decrease with increased salt concentration fermentation time. From the sensory analysis 2.25% brine concentration of dehydrated and rehydrated sauerkraut of 12 days fermentation was found to be superior, thus implying that both fermentation time and salt concentration have significant effect on sensory quality of sauerkraut.