Pickle is used as a household meals supplement in almost all Indian families irrespective of their socioeconomic status. Indian lemon (Citrus limonum) has been one of the main ingredients in pickle and the practice has been carried over for generations till today. The objective of the study was to device a novel method to produce healthier, low salinity Indian lemon pickle without compromising on organoleptic qualities by using Bacillus coagulans. Three salinity concentrations of lemon pickles were prepared, 5%, 10% and 15%. Addition of Bacillus coagulans to the 5% pickle sample resulted in the end product which was qualitatively on par with the other two high salinity pickle samples. The organoleptic qualities of the low salinity pickle were found to be same as the high salinity pickle samples, sustaining same levels of palatability and shelf life. Quantification of LAB (Lactic Acid Bacteria) was done in the low salinity pickle sample and found to be 56 x 104 CFU. Titratable acidity of the three salinity samples was found to be 18.6 °T, 23.1 °T and 35.8 °T for 5%, 10% and 15% salinity pickle samples respectively. Production of low salinity, highly healthy pickle will be a boon for average Indian households by which side effects of continuous pickle consumption such as high blood pressure can be reduced significantly.
