Why are lactic acid bacteria good?
As lactic acid bacteria grow in your pickle crock, they digest sugars in the cucumbers and produce lactic acid. Not only does this acid give the pickles their characteristic sour tang, it controls the spread of spoilage microbes. Also, by gobbling up the sugars, lactic acid bacteria remove a potential food source for bad bacteria. Salt gives the good guys an edge. Adding salt to your pickling brine is one important way to help lactic acid bacteria win the microbial race. At a certain salt concentration, lactic acid bacteria grow more quickly than other microbes, and have a competitive advantage. Below this “right” concentration, bad bacteria may survive and spread more easily, possibly out-competing lactic acid bacteria and spoiling your pickles. Too much salt is also a problem: Lactic acid bacteria cannot thrive, leaving your vegetables unpickled. What s more, salt-tolerant yeasts can spread more quickly. By consuming lactic acid, yeasts make the pickles less acidic and more hospitabl
