engleski

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE FERMENTATION PROCESS AND AROMA PROFILE OF CAROB BRANDY

In Croatia, as part of the Mediterranean region where carob is grown, only carob liquor is produced, mostly as a domestic product. In contrast, pure spirit production by alcoholic fermentation and distillation of carob is very rare and the compounds responsible for the characteristic bouquet of carob spirit are unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of carob as a raw material (source of sugars, nutrients and yeast inhibitors) for the production of carob spirit using commercial yeast strains. Moreover, a preliminary characterization of the volatiles in the obtained distillates was considered. Fermentations were carried out in carob mash with or without added nutrients by five Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains at three different temperatures (20°C, 30°C and room temperature). The obtained wine was subjected to fractional distillation in a copper still to produce carob spirit with an alcohol content of 40 % vol. Analysis of sugars and fermentation products was performed by high performance liquid chromatography. Gas chromatography and gas chromatography coupled with MS detection was used to analyse the volatile components of the carob wine and brandy. Carob flour and S. cerevisiae strains can be efficiently used for the fermentation process to produce carob wine with ethanol content ranging from 46.4 to 50.5 gL-1 and corresponding yield coefficients ranging from 0.45 to 0.49 gg-1. More than ninety compounds detected in carob spirit, namely ethyl 2-methyl butanoate, ethyl 2-methyl propanoate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl hexanoate, beta-ionone, ethyl butanoate and ethyl octanoate, contribute significantly to the fruity and floral bouquet of carob spirit. Thus, by using the tested yeast strains, a novel brandy rich in volatiles can be obtained. Carob brandy can be 82 an additional product in the carob processing chain and new potential, especially for small carob growers.

fermentation ; yeast ; carob ; carob brandy ; distillate ; fruit spirit

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