Impact of Various Pickling Techniques on the Processing Quality of Cassava Tender Shoots

This study explored the differences in the chemical and elemental composition, anti-nutritional factors, and nitrate content of cassava tender shoots (CTS) pickled vegetables under various traditional processes, such as Kimchi (KIM), sprouts pickles (SPP), vegetable pickled in sauce (SP), olives pickles (OP), hot Kimchi (HK) and salted pickles (SAP), using sensory evaluation, the index of nutritional quality (INQ), and principal component analysis (PCA). The aim was to identify the optimal process for producing high-quality CTS pickled vegetables. Results indicated that different pickling processes significantly affect the quality of CTS pickled vegetables. SPP had the highest protein content at 35.29 g/100 g, while SAP had relatively lower chemical composition. The mineral content in the CTS pickled vegetables decreased to varying degrees, with SPP having the most significant decrease (71.91% in Mn content, 70.72% in Zn, 59.20% in K, and 60.84% in Mg). The cyanide content of CTS pickled vegetables ranged from 32.62 mg/kg to 82.41 mg/kg, while tannin content ranged from 1.07 g tannic acid/100 g to 2.33 g tannic acid/100 g, with nitrate content lower than the national standard at 0.37 mg/kg to 1.02 mg/kg. Sensory evaluation showed that KIM had satisfactory freshness, texture, and appearance, ranking the highest among all. INQ evaluation indicated that SAP, KIM, and HK had higher nutritional value. PCA analysis showed that the cumulative contribution rate of the first three principal components was 83.949%, and the overall score showed that KIM, OP, and HK had higher quality. After comprehensive evaluation of sensory evaluation, INQ evaluation, and PCA analysis, KIM using the pickle-making process was determined to be the best method, followed by HK and SAP.