Question

Explain why salt is added in excess to pickles?

Answer 1

Pickling is the process of preserving or increasing the shelf life of food either through anaerobic fermentation in brine or by immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure commonly affects the food's texture, taste, and flavor of the food. The final product is called a pickle or to prevent ambiguity, prefaced with pickled.

Complete answer: Due to the presence of water, food gets infected by microorganisms, hence has a short shelf life. When we cut the vegetables or raw fruits into pieces, the common salt is added and which further takes out the water present in them (due to the process of osmosis) and dries the pieces. Bacteria can not multiply in the absence of water and hence salt acts as a preservative. Even if microorganisms were present before adding the salt, then most of the bacteria cells will lose water from their cytoplasm and die, due to osmosis. Sugar is also hygroscopic in nature, and it further binds with the water, leaving behind very little water in free form. This thick and viscous form of sugar blocks out all the oxygen and makes it impossible for the microorganisms to survive.

Note: Pickling salt does not contain anti-caking ingredients, which can turn pickling liquid cloudy, or additives like iodine, which can make pickles dark. When we put the salty pickles into unsalty water and the salt comes out of them. The longer you leave the pickles in plain water, the more salt will come out of them.