Pickled pepper, Pepper varieties, Microbial succession, Volatile compounds, Physicochemical indices, Bacteria, Nutrition. Foods and food supply, TX341-641, Food processing and manufacture, TP368-456

This study investigates the microbial succession dynamics and volatile compound formation during pickled pepper fermentation using two pepper varieties. Between Xiaomola (XML) and Zhuzijiao (ZZJ) fermentation process, salinity reduction from 9 % to 4.12 %, pH stabilization at 3.3 after 66 days. As the fermentation proceeds, XML exhibited 55.70 % shared bacterial Operational Taxonomic Units, 2.4-fold higher than ZZJ, with fungal communities shifting to Starmerella and Candida, whereas ZZJ transitioned to 93.42 % Wickerhamomyces dominance. Ethyl acetate, linalool, isoamyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate, acetic acid, and 2-methyl-1-propanol were potential as markers for tracking the fermentation processes. Lactobacillus, Enterobacter, Starmerella, Debaryomyces, and Wickerhamomyces are key in regulating the flavor quality of pickled peppers. These findings propose strategies to standardize flavor profiles through microbial and volatile compound markers monitoring, offering actionable insights to optimize industrial fermentation processes and enhance product consistency in pickled pepper production using different pepper varieties.