Plackett-Burman Screening Design for the Production of Fermented Fiddlehead Fern (Diplazium esculentum Retz.)

This study was performed to screen the variables that influence the quality of pickled fiddlehead fern. The fiddlehead fern pickles were subjected to Plackett-Burman Design (PBD) wherein the variables; nature of fiddlehead fern, levels of salt, fermentation time, fermentation temperature, levels of sugar, and levels of alum were screened. The eight-run screening designs performed in triplicates were subjected to physico-chemical and sensory analysis. Statistical analysis revealed that the pre-processing treatments of the fiddlehead fern, levels of sugar and fermentation time are the factors that significantly affect the fermented fiddlehead fern. Results showed that the blanching of fiddlehead fern before brining, high sugar concentration and longer fermentation significantly favor the sensory and physico-chemical properties of the fermented pickles. To optimize the exact levels of the significant variables, it is therefore recommended that these will be further subjected to optimization studies such as Response Surface Methodology