Potential use of Starmerella bacillaris as fermentation starter for the production of low-alcohol beverages obtained from unripe grapes.

Potential use of Starmerella bacillaris as fermentation starter for the production of low-alcohol beverages obtained from unripe grapes. Int J Food Microbiol. 2019 May 11;303:1-8 Authors: Lemos Junior WJF, Nadai C, Crepalde LT, de Oliveira VS, de Matos AD, Giacomini A, Corich V Abstract To obtain beverages with reduced alcohol content, the use of unripe grapes, with low sugar and high malic acid concentration, was recently explored. Due to the low sugar, ethanol and glycerol production is limited during fermentation affecting important sensory aspects such as the palate fullness of these beverages. The high acidity influences their organoleptic quality, as well. So far, only S. cerevisiae starter, used in conventional fermentations, have been tested in this condition, and no selection has been performed to identify alternative yeasts suitable for unripe grape fermentation. S. bacillaris is known for the low ethanol tolerance, high glycerol and moderate volatile acidity production. Therefore, this non- Saccharomyces yeast have been investigated to improve the quality of low-alcohol beverages. Seven S. bacillaris strains were tested in synthetic musts with different sugar and malic acid levels, mimicking natural ripe and unripe grape musts. In all the tested conditions, S. bacillaris produced higher glycerol than S. cerevisiae. In single-strain fermentation at low sugar and high malic acid no S. bacillaris strains was able to transform...
Source: International Journal of Food Microbiology - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Int J Food Microbiol Source Type: research