OPTIMIZATION OF THE ALCOHOLIC AND ACETIC FERMENTATION PROCESS OF VINEGAR FROM APPLE ‘DELICIOUS DE VISCAS’

De la Cruz F.D.; Changanaqui K.; Castillo A.L.; Bañon J.V.; García M.E.; Tuesta T. · African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (2025) · DOI: 10.18697/ajfand.141.25340

Resumen

Worldwide, vinegar is a fermented condiment which has been used as a beverage, preservative and antioxidant for many centuries. Vinegar can be produced by using by-products or second quality products without compromising the quality of the final product due to its acetic nature which offers the vinegar a unique flavor. Vinegar has been of interest to the scientific community due to its chemical composition rich in antioxidants and organic acids which are also responsible for its organoleptic properties. Vinegar is commonly obtained by alcoholic fermentation and acetic acid fermentation from various carbohydrate-rich sources, including rice, wheat, pears, apples, by-products among others. Alcoholic fermentation involves the addition of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the consecutive addition of Acetobacter aceti for the acetic fermentation. In the valley of Mala (Peru), farmers used a modified version of the Orleans method to produce vinegar from second quality apples of the “Delicious de Viscas” variety, obtaining different results. This study aimed to optimize both alcoholic and acetic fermentation times in apple vinegar production, it used two experimental designs focused on each fermentation process. First, alcoholic fermentation was carried out starting by the standardization of apple must by the addition of brown sugar. Then, for the acetic acid fermentation, a grid was used to enhance contact of the vinegar mother and the product. The results indicated that the total soluble solid (TSS or oBx) in the apple must, and the concentration of the yeast inoculum, significantly influenced the duration of alcoholic fermentation at a 95% confidence level. In addition, it was determined that neither the vinegar mother grid arrangement nor the initial acidity percentage significantly affected the acetic fermentation time, also at a 95% confidence level. The experimental designs identified the optimal conditions for the factors studied in both alcoholic and acetic fermentation, keeping most temperature and pH constant. Consequently, optimization reduced fermentation times from 672 to 38 hours for alcoholic fermentation and from 2856 to 42 hours for acetic fermentation. © (2025), (African Journal of Food). All rights reserved.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina; Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería; Universidad César Vallejo; Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología