Desenvolvimento e caracterização de vinagre de sapoti (Manilkara zapota)

Abstract

The sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) is a small fruit, oval in shape, with a thin, brown skin, and is sweet and juicy. It is normally consumed fresh, but because it is highly perishable, producers find it difficult to keep it preserved for sale. One of the technologies that can solve this problem is the production of vinegar, which can use raw materials and their by-products. It is obtained by alcoholic fermentation followed by acetic fermentation, both resulting from the action of microorganisms. The present work aimed to develop and characterize sapodilla vinegar, obtained from the isolation of acetic bacteria from kombucha and the sapodilla fruit itself. The sapodilla broth was extracted using a hydraulic press, which resulted in a broth with few suspended solids. The acetic bacteria used to produce vinegar were obtained by isolating natural bacteria from sapodilla itself (SVS) and those from artisanal kombucha (KVS2). The alcoholic fermentation of sapodilla broth was carried out in polyethylene bioreactors, using the yeast Saccharomyces bayanus at a concentration of 0.5 g/L. The slow method was used to carry out acetic fermentation, with 75% alcoholic fermented sapodilla and 25% inoculum. The monitoring of the acetic fermentation of the medium containing natural bacteria from sapodilla itself lasted 16 months, presenting a final acidity of 3.817%, while the monitoring of the acetic fermentation of the medium with kombucha lasted 106 days, reaching a final total acidity of 5.09%. Then, the vinegar was removed from the bioreactor, vacuum filtered, bottled and pasteurized. The sapodilla vinegar underwent several analyzes to ensure that it was within the limits required by Brazilian legislation and was subsequently subjected to sensory analysis with untrained judges. The yield of sapodilla pulp was 66.80%, and after extraction the total soluble solids (TSS) of the juice was 23.2°Brix, the total phenolic compounds (TFC) present were 17.203 mg EAG/100 mL, the antioxidant activity by DPPH was 15.164 μM Trolox/100 mL and by FRAP it was 58.758 μM Trolox/100 mL. The alcoholic fermentation obtained an alcohol content of 13.4°GL in almost 9 days, with a maximum yield of 0.58 in the bioreactor. Acetic fermentation lasted 37 days and obtained a total acidity of 5.2338% and an alcohol content of 0.1°GL. The sapodilla vinegar had a volatile acidity of 4.31%, CFT of 30.883 mg EAG/100 mL; antioxidant activity by DPPH of 46.674 μM Trolox/100 mL and by FRAP of 41.977 μM Trolox/100 mL. The sensory analysis carried out concluded that there was no significant difference, with 95% confidence, between sapodilla vinegar and commercial apple cider vinegar. Therefore, it was possible to obtain sapodilla vinegar from kombucha bacteria with 79.7% approval from judges, presenting excellent physical-chemical, microbiological and sensory characteristics. Sabotage proved to be viable for making vinegar.