Preservation of ripe tomatoes by lactic acid fermentation

Lactic acid fermentation is proposed as a method to preserve small-sized ripe tomatoes. The fruits were packed in plastic jars, covered with brine and allowed to ferment spontaneously. The experiments were carried out at different temperatures and sodium chloride concentrations, and the optimum was determined to be 40°C and 3.8% (w/w) NaCl. The lactic acid bacteria isolated from the fermented product were Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus brevis, and Streptococcus sp. After fermentation, the product was packed in one liter glass jars and pasteurized by immersion in water at 77°C for 11 minutes.