Ultrasonic replacement of natural aging: Potential strategies for improving the color, antioxidant activity, and volatile compound profile of astragalus mead

The growing demand for natural and functional beverages has driven research aimed at improving the quality of herbal meads. This study investigates the use of non-thermal processing methods, ultrasonic, microwave, and high hydrostatic pressure processing, as alternatives to traditional natural aging for improving the physicochemical properties, antioxidant activity, color stability, and volatile compound profile of astragalus mead. Response surface methodology was employed to optimize fermentation conditions, which yielded the highest flavonoid content and sensory quality at an impregnation time of 12 h, an impregnation temperature of 10 °C, and a fermentation temperature of 20 °C. Among the processing methods evaluated (natural aging, ultrasound, microwave irradiation, and high hydrostatic pressure), ultrasound treatment resulted in the most significant improvements. Specifically, it increased total phenol content by 7.22 %, total flavonoid content by 9.41 %, and antioxidant capacity by 65.43 %. Volatile compound analysis also revealed a 191.30 % increase in ester content, significantly enhancing floral and fruity notes. Sensory analysis using quantitative descriptive analysis, partial least squares discriminant analysis, and weighted gene co-expression network analysis confirmed the efficacy of ultrasound, with ethyl caprylate identified as a key aroma contributor. These findings suggest that ultrasound is an effective non-thermal processing technique for improving the aging process and overall quality of astragalus mead. This study provides valuable insights for the industrial application of non-thermal processing technologies in astragalus mead production.

Alcoholic Fermentation as a Source of Congeners in Fruit Spirits

Fermentation is a crucial process in the production of alcoholic beverages such as spirits, which produces a number of volatile compounds due to the metabolic activities of yeast. These volatile compounds, together with the volatile components of the raw materials and the volatile compounds produced during the distillation and aging process, play a crucial role in determining the final flavor and aroma of spirits. In this manuscript, we provide a comprehensive overview of yeast fermentation and the volatile compounds produced during alcoholic fermentation. We will establish a link between the microbiome and volatile compounds during alcoholic fermentation and describe the various factors that influence volatile compound production, including yeast strain, temperature, pH, and nutrient availability. We will also discuss the effects of these volatile compounds on the sensory properties of spirits and describe the major aroma compounds in these alcoholic beverages.

Characterization of the Pure Black Tea Wine Fermentation Process by Electronic Nose and Tongue-Based Techniques with Nutritional Characteristics

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, consisting of several compounds in various ranges of concentrations. Wine quality is usually assessed by a sensory panel of trained personnel. Electronic tongues (e-tongues) and electronic noses (e-noses) have been established in recent years to assess the quality of beverages and foods. Response surface and electronic analysis tools were used to examine the quality of black tea wine. The results indicated the optimum initial sugar level (25 °Brix), yeast addition (0.5%), and fermentation temperature (25 °C) for Golden Peony black tea wine. The black tea wine produced under these conditions with 14.0% vol alcohol has as an orange-red color, full wine and tea flavor, and mild and mellow taste. The sourness of the wine was most affected by fermentation factors-yeast addition, fermentation temperature, and initial sugar level. Alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and alkanes contributed to most of the volatile components under the influence of yeast addition and fermentation temperature. In contrast, nitrogen oxides, aromatics, and organic sulfides contributed under the influence of the initial sugar level. This study provided a facilitated strategy for obtaining the optimum black tea wine fermentation process through electronic nose and tongue-based techniques. The analysis of wines requires new technologies able to detect various different compounds simultaneously, providing worldwide information about the sample instead of information about specific compounds.

Examining the factors shaping consumer attitude towards the popular alcoholic beverages in Hungary

The study of consumer attitudes is particularly important for products related to tradition. Pálinka is Hungary's national beverage; the homemade distillate is primarily legally different from pálinka and it cannot be marketed. The main goal of the research is to analyse the role of the three attitude components (cognitive, affective and conative), consumer ethnocentrism and drinking motives in shaping the consumer attitude towards the Hungarian pálinka and the homemade distillate and a popular, but not Hungarian beverage, whisky.

Data were collected by questionnaires using a quota sampling method, resulting in a sample of 626 respondents.

In this paper we demonstrate the importance of the affective component using structural equation modelling, and the way consumer ethnocentrism influences the favorable consumer attitude to homemade distillate through emotions. The study has revealed the opposite effect of consumer ethnocentrism in the case of whisky, and the lack of effect in the case of pálinka.

The social alcohol drinking motivation also shapes the favorable consumer attitudes towards the homemade distillate and whisky. The consumer preference is also supported by using the Multiattribute Attitude Model and the conjoint-analysis.

The scientific value of the study lies in using different methods for understanding the factors that can shape the consumer attitude towards national beverages.

Improving the consumer attitude towards pálinka requires a comprehensive marketing strategy covering all three attitudinal components, and from a consumer ethnocentrism perspective, the positioning of pálinka as a national drink needs to be strengthened by the producers.

The study has ignored the role of brand, tradition, packaging and nostalgia. Future research can examine the role of these factors in consumer attitude towards national alcoholic beverages. By inserting the conceptual model of this study into the Theory of Planned Behaviour model, the effects of the subjective norms and perceived behavioral control can also be analysed.