Desenvolvimento de protocolo para fabricação de licor de maçã envelhecido com chips de madeira previamente tratados por ultrassom

Abstract

The diversification in the processing of apples, such as the development of woody apple liqueur, adds value to the productive chain of this fruit, returning more income to companies and producers. The practice of aging beverages, such as fruit liqueur, incorporates phenolic compounds from wood, contributing to the sensory enhancement due to the incorporation of new aromas and flavors. The objective of this work was to establish a protocol for the elaboration of an aged apple liqueur with wooden chips, previously treated by ultrasound. In a first step to obtain an ideal formulation for the new apple liqueur, experimental tests were developed with three variations of Gala apple juice (whole juice, whole juice + pectinase and pectinized), mixed with cereal alcohol and obtaining different alcoholic levels (15.0°; 17.5°; 20.0°; 22.5° and 25.0°), as well as different sugar levels (30, 50, 70 and 100 g/L). The aging process was applied, in liqueur with 100 g/L of sugar and 20° GL, with addition of wood chips toasting and untoasting, varying the pre-treatment of these chips, in ultrasonic bath, ultrasonic device or without pre-treatment, which were monitored for 90 days with the analysis of total phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity (FRAP, DPPH and ABTS) and color to assess evolution of the liqueur's maturation. Physicochemical analyzes were performed before and after the aging process and sensory evaluation to define the intensity of sensory attributes and preference among different liquors. The best formulation was defined with whole juice, pectinase and cereal alcohol, with color parameter L*, above 95.0, due to the sedimentation quality and the alcohol content of 20°, because there was no significant difference between the experiments. The liqueur with 100 g/L of sugar showed a higher percentage of acceptability of 77.5%. After 90 days, the liqueur that received pre-treated chips with an ultrasonic device showed 116.5% more in terms of total phenols and on average (between FRAP, DPPH and ABTS) 4.9 times more in terms of antioxidant activity than control liquor. Pretreatment with an ultrasonic device accelerated the extraction process by 60 days, when compared to the liquor that received untreated chips. Untoasting chips contributed 17.4% more to the phenolic content than toasting chips, in terms of total phenols. The liqueur that received pre-treated chips untoasting in an ultrasonic device also showed a greater variation in total color ΔE = 7.03 and sensorially presented more preference. In this way it was possible to obtain a protocol for the elaboration of apple woody liqueur using pre-treated wooden chips with an ultrasonic device. The use of ultrasound technology accelerated the extraction process of phenolic compounds from wood, with a significant increase in the content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of the liqueur, and also intensified the presence of the woody attributes in the apple liqueur, contributing to the acceptance and preference of the final product.