Effect of maturation conditions on sensory and antioxidant properties of old Serbian plum brandies

?ljivovica and Prepe?enica are traditional Serbian distillated beverages made from varieties of plum, of the genus Prunus. The ageing in wooden casks not only improves the sensory characteristics, but also changes the content of total polyphenols and contributes to the other important health properties, such as the increase of their antioxidant capacity. In this study, home-made brandy (?ljivovica and Prepe?enica) samples were used, which matured in casks during the time period from 10 to 47?years. The aim of this investigation was to examine the influence of the ageing parameters (time period and type of wooden casks) and raw material (plum cultivars) on the total polyphenol content, amount of certain phenol compounds, sensory properties, colour and antioxidant properties in matured brandies. The individual phenol components were determinated using HPLC system equipped with diode array detector, while the total phenol content and antioxidant activity was estimated using spectrophotometric methods (Folin?CCiocalteu, DPPH, FRAP and TEAC). Total polyphenol content (TPC) of aged Prepe?enica samples was ranged from 230.26 to 890.26?mg/L gallic acid equivalents (GAE mg/L), whereas the TPC of ?ljivovica sample was 110.38?mg/L. Antioxidant capacity of analysed Prepe?enica samples and ?ljivovica sample was in strong correlation with TPC. Total sensory score of all samples was very high and varied between 18.2 and 19.8. The obtained results have shown that the benefit of longer maturation on sensory characteristics is well recognized, but the improvement has some limitation.     

Changes in polyphenolic content and antioxidant activity after thermal treatments of grape seed extract and grape pomace

This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of heat treatment on polyphenolic content and antioxidant activity in grape pomace (GP) and grape seed extract (GSE). GP and GSE were heat treated in a furnace or autoclaved at 100 °C for 15, 30 and 60 min. Structural modifications of the polyphenols during thermal processes were determined by HPLC–MS, and the antioxidant activity was determined by ABTS, DPPH and photochemiluminescence methods. In general, furnace thermal treatment of GSE and GP did not affect the total extractable polyphenols content, tannin content, procyanidin components and the antioxidant activity. Autoclave treatment caused an extensive hydrolysis of gallocatechin (70%), catechin (61%), epicatechin (65%), procyanidin B1 (75%) and procyanidin B2 (73%) in GSE, and an increase in gallic acid (71%), gallocatechin (100%) and epicatechin gallate (129%) in GP. Autoclave treatment did not affect the antioxidant activity of GSE or GP. It can be concluded that the effect of autoclave was more severe than furnace heat treatment modifying the phenolic profile in a different manner depending on the grape seed product used. These modifications were not related with changes in antioxidant activity.     

Validation of a Method for Analysis of Aroma Compounds in Red Wine using Liquid–Liquid Extraction and GC–MS

An analytical method for determination of volatile composition of wines using sample preparation by liquid–liquid extraction and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry for separation and detection has been developed and validated. Extraction of volatile compounds was performed in dichloromethane, and 1-octanol was added as an internal standard. Kékfrankos red wine produced in Villány wine region in Hungary was used as a model wine for testing and validation of the method. The developed method allowed satisfactory determination of 33 volatile compounds in the wines. Compounds analyzed include alcohols, esters, lactones, fatty acids, furans, and nitrogen compounds. The calibration curves of the four reference compounds used (2-phenyl ethanol, ethyl nonanoate, butyrolactone, and tyrosol) were linear in all cases with correlation coefficients (R ²) ranging from 0.9951 to 0.9992. The accuracy of the method was checked with a standard addition method (recovery 92.2–103 %), showing good repeatability and reproducibility (RSD?<?10 %).     

Part III: the influence of serial repitching of Saccharomyces pastorianus on the production dynamics of some important aroma compounds during the fermentation of barley and gluten‐free buckwheat and quinoa wort

The present paper is the last report of a comprehensive study regarding the influence of the serial repitching of Saccharomyces pastorianus TUM 34/70 on the composition of a barley, buckwheat or quinoa fermentation medium. In particular, it focuses on the production dynamics of important volatile compounds typically associated with the aroma of beer. Samples were taken every 24 h after 11 serial repitchings of a single starter culture, analysed for the particular aroma compound content by distillation followed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. The term ‘serial repitching factor’ is used for the first time to support the visual evaluation of the influence of serial repitching. Results showed that the levels of methanol in the quinoa wort fermentation were only slightly higher than in barley and in practical terms independent of successive fermentation. The behaviour of acetaldehyde in quinoa was similar to that in barley. However, there was a final 2‐fold lower production of some important aroma compounds compared with barley and buckwheat and for this reason quinoa cannot be recommended as a gluten‐free substitute to produce a bottom‐fermented beer. Regarding the buckwheat wort fermentation, a 2‐ to 3‐times lower final acetaldehyde content than in barley is desirable, whereas a relatively high methanol content is not desirable. Barley and buckwheat showed comparable sum concentrations and similar overall profiles of some important aroma compounds. From this perspective, buckwheat appears to be a promising substitute for barley as a brewing raw material. The overall conclusions of our comprehensive study (Parts I–III) are that buckwheat shows adequate brewing properties to substitute for barley in the commercial preparation of a bottom‐fermented gluten‐free beer‐like beverage, and yeast can be repitched at least 11 times. In contrast, quinoa in practical terms shows no substitutional potential for barley in beer; however, it has many nutritious advantages, thus the commercial preparation of a unique, bottom‐fermented gluten‐free ‘non‐beer‐like’ beverage – where the yeast could be repitched six times at most – appears feasible. Copyright © 2015 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

Effect of raspberry pomace extracts isolated by high pressure extraction on the quality and shelf‐life of beef burgers

Raspberry pomace extracts isolated with supercritical carbon dioxide (SCE) and pressurised ethanol/water (ETE) were tested in beef burgers. Only ETE additives effectively inhibited lipid oxidation and the growth of microorganisms, as it was observed by measuring the changes of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, bacterial counts and the content of O₂ and CO₂ during storage in the modified atmosphere package. ETE additives also demonstrated some meat colour preservation effects, which were assessed by the intensity of hamburger colour and metmyoglobin concentration. However, ETE additives did not alter burger's taste at the applied concentrations (up to 1%). It may be concluded that the most effective extracts possessing strong antioxidant and antimicrobial activity may be isolated from raspberry pomace by the pressurised liquid extraction with a hydroethanolic solvent; such extracts may be considered as promising additives in meat products for improving their stability and enriching with beneficial to health phytochemicals.     

Color measurement: comparison of colorimeter vs. computer vision system

The aim of this work was to compare two food color measurement techniques, the traditional tristimulus colorimeter and an image analysis system. In this sense a computer vision system was developed, consisting of a digital camera, a controlled illumination environment, and a software package to process the images. The conversion between color spaces was performed employing empirical mathematical models; a standard color chart was used for its calibration. The color of 40 samples of raw and processed foods was measured in the CIELAB color space with the computer vision system and a colorimeter. The equivalence between both techniques, for individual L*, a* and b* values, was determined using appropriate hypothesis tests. For most samples both systems provide equivalent results, although the total color difference ?Ε was high enough to be noticeable. The average ?Ε was 5.88?±?3.32, with an average absolute ?L*?=?2.79?±?2.42, ?a*?=?3.02?±?2.94; ?b*?=?2.84?±?2.53. In addition, the color measured by the image analyses technique seemed to be more similar to the real ones.