Effects of preparation procedures on ascorbic acid retention in pickled hot peppers.

The effect of preparation procedures (with and without sugar and chickpea) on ascorbic acid in pickled (acidification with vinegar) green hot peppers during pickling and the storage period (8 weeks) was studied. Ascorbic acid values in fresh pepper rapidly decreased after pickled processing (first 3 weeks) and then did not significantly (P=0.05) change through the storage time (8 weeks), but sugar and chickpea added together in pickling pepper processing resulted in greater ascorbic acid retention. The retention was 48.2% and 40.9% for 3 and 8 weeks, respectively.