Production of a Distilled Spirit Using Cassava Flour as Raw Material: Chemical Characterization and Sensory Profile

Abstract

Cassava plays a key role in the food production and economies of several countries worldwide. Due to its starch content, alcoholic fermentation is a promising transformation process for adding value to cassava. However, most of the existing cassava beverages are from traditional origin, with the yields and quality often poorly known or controlled due to the use of artisanal production processes. This work aims at the application of easily implementable biotechnological tools for the production of cassava spirits, in order to add value to this raw material. Cassava flour was liquefied and saccharified using enzymatic cocktails, generating a fermentable broth with ~184 g L−1 of fermentable sugars. This was then fermented into an alcoholic product with ~10% ethanol by volume and distilled for spirit production. Cassava spirits with 40% ethanol by volume, with or without application of oak wood, were produced. For further valorization, volatile fractions of cassava spirits were characterized by gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and GC–MS. These showed a predominance of yeast fermentation metabolites, complemented by wood extractives where oak chips were applied. Both produced spirits showed desirable sensory traits, receiving good acceptance by experienced tasters, demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed process to add value to cassava surplus.

Physicochemical composition of some new craft beers consumed in Maroua town from Far North region of Cameroon

“…All samples of beers from the morning to the evening had maximum boiling temperature with values greater than or equal to 78°C (T ≥78°C) showed the highest value in terms of volume, 15.9 mL (BPvM), 15.8mL (CPiE) for low value and 20.85mL (CPiM), 21.3mL (BPvE) for high values. Almost ethanol content of sample beer was collected in different fractions, with distillation efficiency close to 100% (Coelho et al 2020). On the other hand, we did not collect all the ethanol which was found in some samples, those whose boiling point was strictly below 78°C.…”

“…These compounds may influence the quantity and quality of distilled ethanol. An ethyl acetate which had also been found in cassava spirits indicated that the distilled beverages such as whiskey, rum and Cachaça affected the quality of them (Coelho et al 2020).…”

“…Gas chromatography (GC-FID) and GC-MS method for the detection and quantification of these different alcohols and other compounds in mixture has not been carried out in the present study, so we believe that there are many other compounds may be present. Recent works show many volatile compounds namely aldehydes, esters, alcohols and acids have been identified by using different chromatography method in cassava spirit and traditional sorghum beer (Attchelouwa et al 2020;Coelho et al 2020) which derived from the fermentative metabolism of yeast and can be further concentrated during the distillation.…”

Cassava Biomaterial Innovations for Industry Applications

“…Application of cassava in beverages. Research trials confirm application of cassava into spirits and beers [42]. Using enzymes, cassava is liquefied and saccharified serially into, fermentable broth (circa 184 g/l of fermentable sugars), alcohol (circa10% ethanol) and spirits (40% ethanol by volume) with consumer acceptance [42].…”

Fermentation profile and chemical composition of cassava root silage

“…In the Amazon region, cassava is a staple food for indigenous and nonindigenous populations, and is the main income source of smallholder farmers, which leads to the preservation of a range of genotypes cultivated in the region (Elias et al 2004). The majority of cassava roots produced in the Amazon region is used to produce cassava flour, and also to produce starch, ethanol, alcoholic beverages and animal feed (Ajibola et al 2012;Supapong et al 2019;Coelho et al 2020).…”