Pickles and lemons have a sour taste What types of substances are in pickles to give them this taste?

Here's how it works:

* Fermentation: Pickles are made by fermenting cucumbers in a brine solution, which is essentially salt water. During fermentation, bacteria called *Lactobacillus* convert sugars in the cucumbers into lactic acid. This process gives pickles their characteristic tangy flavor.

* Vinegar: Many pickle recipes also use vinegar, which is a solution of acetic acid in water. This adds to the sourness and helps to preserve the pickles.

So, the sour taste in pickles comes from a combination of lactic acid produced during fermentation and acetic acid from vinegar.