The effects of different nuruk contents and fermentation methods (AV, vinegar fermented in an agitated culture; SV, vinegar fermented in a static culture) on organic acids and volatile compounds in brown rice vinegars were investigated. In the SV, the contents of acetic, oxalic, tartaric, and malic acids increased with hipher contents of nuruk. Acetic, tartaric, and malic acid contents were higher in the SV than those in the AV. Volatile compounds that can affect vinegar quality, including acetic acid, isoamyl acetate, phenethyl acetate, and phenethyl alcohol were present at high concentrations in the AV. With the increase in nuruk contents in the AV, acetic acid content decreased and isoamyl acetate and phenethyl acetate content increased. No significant differences in sensory scores were observed regarding the amount of nuruk and the type of fermentation. However, electronic-nose analysis showed its potential to effectively differentiate different samples.

This study investigated the manufacturing conditions of apple vinegar with high acetic acid content following fermentation according to alcohol concentration without any nutrients. We compared and analyzed the quality characteristics of high acetic acid fermentation by varying the initial alcohol content (6%, 7%, 8%, and 9%). In the results, it was possible to manufacture high acetic acid vinegar with 12% titratable acidity and an alcohol content of 6% and 7%. Lower initial alcohol content was associated with higher yield due to a shorter lag phase. For quality characteristics of the high acetic acid apple vinegar, pH was 2.91∼3.20, titratable acidity was 12.0%, and organic acid consisted of acetic acid, malic acid, critic acid and oxalic acids. Based on the results, high acetic acid apple vinegar was produced using a two stage fermentation process after alcohol fermentation but the further research is needed to reduce the time of fermentation in fed-batch culture for industrial use.

No abstract

The quality of brown rice vinegar that was produced via static culture (A) was compared with the quality of three types of domestic commercial brown rice vinegar (B, C, and D) and of three types of Japanese brown rice vinegar (E, F, and G). The results showed titratable acidity levels of 6.39%, 4.52-6.32%, and 4.51-4.89% in the static-cultured brown rice vinegar, the domestic commercial brown rice vinegars, and the Japanese brown rice vinegars, respectively. The pH levels were 3.28, 2.58-2.97, and 3.03-3.27 in the static-culture brown rice vinegar, the domestic commercial brown rice vinegars, and the Japanese brown rice vinegars, respectively, which show similar values of the static-culture brown rice vinegar and the Japanese brown rice vinegars. The total nitrogen (TN) values of the static-culture brown rice vinegar, the domestic commercial brown rice vinegars, and the Japanese brown rice vinegars were 0.24, 0.03-0.16, and 0.12-0.17, respectively, with the highest value for the static-culture brown rice vinegar, substantial differences among the domestic commercial brown rice vinegars, and similar contents among the Japanese brown rice vinegars. For free sugar, glucose was either detected only in a small quantity or not detected at all in the static-culture brown rice vinegar and the Japanese brown rice vinegars, which showed perfect fermentation. The glucose and maltose contents were higher in the domestic commercial brown rice vinegars. The organic acid content of the static-culture brown rice vinegar was similar to that of the Japanese brown rice vinegars. Therefore, the total acidity content, TN value, sensory property, and quality of the static-culture brown rice vinegar (A) were superior to those of the domestic and Japanese brown rice vinegars.

Brown rice vinegar was made from brown rice mash with different brewing starter addition rates in static culture, and its quality characteristics were investigated. As a result, the amounts of alcohol produced in the fermentation process were shown to be 9.1, 8.8, 8.6 and 8.5% in the Nuruk 75 : crude enzyme 25 (B), Nuruk 50 : crude enzyme 50 (C), Nuruk 25 : crude enzyme 75 (D) and Nuruk 0 : crude enzyme 100 (E), respectively. The higher the percentage of crude enzyme added was, the lower the alcohol content that was produced. Nuruk 100 : crude enzyme 0 (A) was appeared to contain the lowest alcohol content (7.7%). In addition, the titratable acidity in all the groups was about 0.7%. The final titratable acidity (BV) of brown rice vinegar made with static culture was the highest (approximately 5.2%). The initial pH appeared to be between 3.6∼4.0 and steadily decreased as the fermentation progressed, and the pH was almost unchanged after 15 day fermentation. The examination of the changes in the organic acids showed that the acetic acid content was similar in all the groups, and that the single starter added (AV, EV) group had much more other organic acids than the mixed starters added (BV, CV, DV) group. From these results, the mixed starters (Nuruk and crude enzyme) added group appeared to be superior to the single starter added in terms of alcohol production ability and vinegar quality. As the future aging process, however, is expected to change the flavor components and sensory characteristics, studies on various quality factors of vinegar are needed.