ESTUDO DA PRODUÇÃO DE AGUARDENTE COMPOSTA POR POLPA DE CAJU E CALDO DE CANA

Abstract

Cachaça is the typical Brazilian drink, which currently ranks as the third most consumed distilled beverage in the world and with an expanding market, where only 1% of its production is exported. It is known by several popular names (cachaça, aguardente, pinga, caninha, branquinha etc.), but according to Brazilian legislation, the drink has two basic classifications: aguardente and cachaça. With the increase in the consumption of aguardente and the possibility of exporting more and more demanding a quality product, the present work had as its objective the production of aguardente, from the mixture between the cashew pulp and the cane juice, by means of two different processes. In this way, two processes are presented to obtain a final product with a differentiated quality, complying with the standards of the current legislation and making it easier to please the most demanding consumers, in addition to exporting to different countries. During the fermentation process, the following variables were monitored: total soluble solids, total reducing sugars, ethanol concentration, pH and temperature. The physical-chemical analyzes were performed throughout the process to evidence the quality of the beverage and verify that it meets the standards required by legislation. The samples were separated into three bioreactors in which at the end of the fermentations the fermented were distilled, obtaining two aguardentes compostas, the first one from the fermented one in the bioreactor 1 (traditional way) and the second one from the mixture of the fermented ones in bioreactors 2 and 3 (alternative route). In all the fermented, an initial sample with 15,0 ° Brix was used and the amount of yeast was of 15,0 g / L, that after the fermentation, gave origin to fermented wines with alcoholic contents superior to 8,0 ° GL, ideal value for distillation. The alcohol content of the aguardentes compostas was 40.0 ° GL for that obtained by traditional fermentation and 41,0 ° GL for the one obtained by alternative fermentation route. All other parameters analyzed are within the required range. The study proves the possibility of using fermentation routes different from the traditional one, without negative interference in the final product, in which the use of cashew pulp and cane juice proved to be an excellent raw material for obtaining aguardentes compostas.