Improvement of Wine Vinegar Elaboration and Quality Analysis: Instrumental and Human Sensory Evaluation

Exploring Taiwanese Consumer Dietary Preferences for Various Vinegar Condiments: Novel Dietary Patterns across Diverse Cultural Contexts

The use of vinegar as a culinary seasoning in various global cuisines to enhance the taste characteristics and profiles of foods has been extensively documented in the culinary literature. Particularly notable is traditional Taiwanese-style thick soup, where the incorporation of vinegar plays a fundamental role in imparting distinct flavors. In the context of this experimental investigation, the foundational base of Taiwanese-style thick soup serves as the platform for a meticulously planned sensory and dietary behavior evaluation. Our research methodology combines the use of survey questionnaires and experimental techniques, employing purposive sampling and snowball sampling methods to recruit participants. The central focus of this study is to understand consumers' culinary preferences when presented with a choice between two contrasting types of vinegar-specifically, black vinegar and balsamic vinegar-as alternative gastronomic enhancements. This precise orchestration of data collection and systematic evaluation provides a perceptive window into participants' culinary inclinations and food choices, resulting in a detailed and profound understanding of their taste preferences. The empirical findings stemming from this experimentation reveal notably significant differences in the sensory assessments among participants engaging in diverse culinary experiences. Notably, distinct variations are observed in terms of visual perceptions, olfactory distinctions, and overall sensory satisfaction. This study occupies a crucial position within existing research paradigms by strategically expanding the scope of sensory investigations within the realm of Taiwanese-style thick soup. This introduces an innovative aspect represented by the introduction of balsamic vinegar as a compelling alternative to the customary black vinegar. As a result, the emerging findings not only offer compelling insights into the nuanced food choice and taste preferences of consumers, but also open up new and innovative directions within the complex tapestry of Chinese gastronomy.

Characterization of Some Stilbenoids Extracted from Two Cultivars of Lambrusco-Vitis vinifera Species: An Opportunity to Valorize Pruning Canes for a More Sustainable Viticulture

Pruning canes from grape vines are valuable byproducts that contain resveratrol and other health-boosting stilbenoids. This study aimed to assess the effect of roasting temperature on the stilbenoid content of vine canes by comparing two Vitis vinifera cultivars, Lambrusco Ancellotta and Salamino. Samples were collected during different phases of the vine plant cycle. One set was collected in September after the grape harvest and was air-dried and analyzed. A second set was obtained during vine pruning in February and evaluated immediately after collection. The main stilbenoid identified in each sample was resveratrol (~100-2500 mg/kg), with significant levels of viniferin (~100-600 mg/kg) and piceatannol (~0-400 mg/kg). Their contents decreased with increasing roasting temperature and residence time on the plant. This study provides valuable insights into the use of vine canes in a novel and efficient manner, which could potentially benefit different industries. One potential use involves the roasted cane chips to accelerate the aging of vinegars and alcoholic beverages. This method is more efficient and cost-effective than traditional aging, which is slow and unfavorable from an industrial perspective. Furthermore, incorporating vine canes into maturation processes reduces viticulture waste and enhances the final products with health-promoting molecules, such as resveratrol.

Biorefining process of agricultural onions to functional vinegar

Biorefinery of onion vinegar (OV) is attractive as a method for producing functional foods from onions or onion by-products. In this study, a two-stage fermentation of OV using Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC9763 and Acetobacter pasteurianus CICC20001 was carried out at 28 °C, the titratable acidity reached 4.01%, and the Y_A/E was 69.64% at 72 h. Based on this, semi-continuous fermentation was performed, proceeded to charge-discharge consisting of three cycles, and the yield, productivity, and specific production rate were 76.71%, 17.73 g/(L·d), and 20.51 h^-1, respectively, which was higher than fed-batch fermentation. The in vivo antioxidant experiments showed that OV significantly increased GSH-Px, SOD, and CAT enzyme activities of Caenorhabditis elegans at 271.57, 129.26, and 314.68%, respectively. Nutritional analysis revealed that the total flavonoids and polyphenols were 3.01 mg/mL and 976.76 µg/mL, respectively. It was also shown that the acetic acid to total organic acid (A/T) ratio of OV was 79.02%, and the total free amino acid content was 262.30 mg/100 mL, 1.78-7.44 times higher than other fruit vinegar. The OV prepared in this study showed higher quality than the commercial vinegar.

Selection of Acetic Acid Bacterial Strains and Vinegar Production From Local Maltese Food Sources

This study investigates the isolation, identification, and fermentation performance of autochthonous acetic acid bacteria (AAB) from local niche habitats on the Island of Gozo (Malta) and their further use for vinegar production, employing local raw materials. The bacteria were isolated from grapevine berries and vinegar produced in the cottage industry. Following phenotype and genotype identification, the AAB were ascribed to the genera Acetobacter, Gluconobacter, and Komagataeibacter. A mixture of selected AAB was tested as an inoculum for vinegar production in bench fermenters, under different conditions and substrates, namely, grapes, honey, figs, onions, prickly pear, and tomatoes. The bench fermenters were operated under semi-continuous fermentation where working volumes were maintained by discharging and subsequent recharging accordingly to maintain the acidity in fermenters by adding 30-50 g/l of acetic acid for optimal Acetobacteraceae performance. Finally, the vinegar products obtained from the different substrates were evaluated for their quality, including organoleptic properties, which showed the superior quality of wood-treated vinegar samples with respect to neat vinegar samples.

Vinegar from Anacardium othonianum Rizzini using submerged fermentation

BACKGROUND

Anacardium othonianum Rizzini is a native Cerrado fruit, recently described in the literature. Its use is restricted to its native region and there is a lack of studies regarding production of vinegar from the pulp. This work aims to investigate the production of A. othonianum Rizzini vinegar using submerged fermentation.

RESULTS

The density, alcohol content, proximal composition, pH, color coordinates, and chromatographic profile of the volatile compounds were analyzed in the slurry, fermented juice, and vinegar produced from the corpulent parts of A. othonianum Rizz. Sensory acceptance and willingness to pay were also assessed with vinegar at 4% and 6% of total acidity. The results indicated compliance with European legislation and the presence of volatile compounds such as carbon dioxide, acetic acid, ethanol, and acetaldehyde in the analyzed vinegars. Our results indicate the potential of vinegar production from A. othonianum, with 74% and 86% willingness to pay.

CONCLUSIONS

The process of transformation of the fruit pulp into new products can contribute to fruit valorization and consequent preservation of the plant in the Cerrado biome. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of volatile compounds and minerals in A. othonianum Rizz. slurry. Our observations can be used as a basis for future studies regarding the preparation of vinegars from this species and for investigating their application in cooking and guiding consumer perception. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Sensory and spectroscopic characterization of Argentinean wine and balsamic vinegars: A comparative study with European vinegars

In Argentina, vinegars are cheap agro-food products without exhaustive regulation and the production of high-quality vinegars has not been exploited yet. In fact, Argentinean vinegars have not been studied. In this context, a first study of Argentinean balsamic and wine vinegars was carried out by a sensory and spectroscopic characterization and by a comparison with well-recognized European vinegars. For that, ultraviolet-visible and fluorescence spectroscopies were applied together with principal component analysis (PCA) and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) performed on each data set, respectively. Results showed differences between acetification processes, origin countries and a wide variability within Argentinean production. The sensory characterization on Argentinean wine vinegars was performed by triangular and ordering preference tests showing statistically significant preferences toward the traditional and the rapid vinegars. This work highlights the effect of production on quality in order to provide added value to the Argentinean vinegars.

Associations of volatile compounds with sensory aroma and flavor: the complex nature of flavor

Attempts to relate sensory analysis data to specific chemicals such as volatile compounds have been frequent. Often these associations are difficult to interpret or are weak in nature. Although some difficulties may relate to the methods used, the difficulties also result from the complex nature of flavor. For example, there are multiple volatiles responsible for a flavor sensation, combinations of volatiles yield different flavors than those expected from individual compounds, and the differences in perception of volatiles in different matrices. This review identifies some of the reasons sensory analysis and instrumental measurements result in poor associations and suggests issues that need to be addressed in future research for better understanding of the relationships of flavor/aroma phenomena and chemical composition.

Classification of Sherry vinegars by combining multidimensional fluorescence, parafac and different classification approaches

Sherry vinegar is a much appreciated product from Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, Manzanilla de Sanlúcar and Vinagre de Jerez Protected Designation in southwestern Spain. Its complexity and the extraordinary organoleptic properties are acquired thanks to the method of production followed, the so-called "criaderas y solera" ageing system. Three qualities for Sherry vinegar are considered according to ageing time in oak barrels: "Vinagre de Jerez" (minimum of 6 months), "Reserva" (at least 2 years) and "Gran Reserva" (at least 10 years). In the last few years, there has been an increasing need to develop rapid, inexpensive and effective analytical methods, as well as requiring low sample manipulation for the analysis and characterization of Sherry vinegar. Fluorescence spectroscopy is emerging as a competitive technique for this purpose, since provides in a few seconds an excitation-emission landscape that may be used as a fingerprint of the vinegar. Multi-way analysis, specifically Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC), is a powerful tool for simultaneous determination of fluorescent components, because they extract the most relevant information from the data and allow building robust models. Moreover, the information obtained by PARAFAC can be used to build robust and reliable classification and discrimination models (e.g. by using Support Vector Machines and Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis models). In this context, the aim of this work was to study the possibilities of multi-way fluorescence linked to PARAFAC and to classify the different Sherry vinegars accordingly to their ageing. The results demonstrated that the use of the proposed analytical and chemometric tools are a perfect combination to extract relevant chemical information about the vinegars as well as to classify and discriminate them considering the different ageing.

Chemical characterization of commercial Sherry vinegar aroma by headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-olfactometry

The sensorial representativeness of the headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) aroma extract from commercial Sherry vinegars has been determined by direct gas chromatography-olfactometry (D-GCO). Extracts obtained under optimal conditions were used to characterize the aroma of these vinegars by means of GCO and aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). Among the 37 different odorants determined, 13 of them were identified for the first time in Sherry vinegars: 2 pyrazines (3-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, 3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine), 2 sulfur compounds (methanethiol, dimethyl trisulfide), 1 unsaturated ketone (1-octen-3-one), 1 norisoprenoid (β-damascenone), 1 ester (ethyl trans-cinnamate) and 6 aldehydes (2- and 3-methylbutanal, octanal, nonanal, (E)-2-nonenal and (E,E)-2,4-decadienal). The determination of the odor thresholds in a hydroacetic solution together with the quantitative analysis-which was also performed using the simple and fast SPME technique-allowed obtaining the odor activity values (OAV) of the aromatic compounds found. Thus, a first pattern of their sensory importance on commercial Sherry vinegar aroma was provided.

Relationship between changes in the total concentration of acetic acid bacteria and major volatile compounds during the acetic acid fermentation of white wine

BACKGROUND

In the scope of the wine vinegar production, this paper provides comprehensive information about the evolution of some volatile compounds during the biological acetification cycle. These data were compared with the acidity, cell concentration and ethanol concentration. Such information may allow a better understanding of the complex biological processes involved.

RESULTS

The volatile compounds 2-phenylethanol, diethyl succinate (diethyl butanedioate), meso-2,3-butanediol (meso-butane-2,3-diol), levo-2,3-butanediol (levo-butane-2,3-diol), methanol and ethyl acetate exhibited no significant changes between the starting wine and produced vinegar, whereas the rest [acetoin (3-hydroxybutan-2-one) excepted] ethyl lactate (ethyl 2-hydroxypropanoate), isoamyl alcohols (3-methylbutan-1-ol and 2-methylbutan-1-ol), isobutanol (2-methylpropan-1-ol), 1-propanol (propan-1-ol), and acetaldehyde were consumed in substantial amounts during the process. Additionally, their specific evolution patterns alongside bacterial cell concentrations, acidity and ethanol concentration are shown.

CONCLUSION

Concentrations of acetic acid bacteria at the end of the acetification cycle were found to vary because of cell lysis, a result of the high acidity and low ethanol concentration of the medium. Variations were similar to those in some volatile compounds, which suggests their involvement in the metabolism of acetic bacteria. The results testify to the usefulness of this pioneering study and suggest that there should be interest in similar, more detailed studies for a better knowledge of the presence of certain volatile compounds and metabolic activity in cells effecting the acetification of wine.