Volatile Profile of Mead Fermenting Blossom Honey and Honeydew Honey with or without Ribes nigrum

Abstract

Mead is a not very diffused alcoholic beverage and is obtained by fermentation of honey and water. Despite its very long tradition, little information is available on the relation between the ingredient used during fermentation and the aromatic characteristics of the fermented beverage outcome. In order to provide further information, multi-floral blossom honey and a forest honeydew honey with and without the addition of black currant during fermentation were used to prepare four different honey wines to be compared for their volatile organic compound content. Fermentation was monitored, and the total phenolic content (Folin-Ciocalteu), volatile organic compounds (HS-SPME-GC-MS), together with a sensory evaluation on the overall quality (44 nontrained panelists) were measured for all products at the end of fermentation. A higher total phenolic content resulted in honeydew honey meads, as well as the correspondent honey wine prepared with black currant. A total of 46 volatile organic compounds for pre-fermentation samples and 62 for post-fermentation samples were identified belonging to higher alcohols, organic acids, esters, and terpenes. The sensory analysis showed that the difference in meads made from blossom honey and honeydew honey was perceptible by the panelists with a general greater appreciation for the traditional blossom honey mead. These results demonstrated the influences of different components in meads, in particular, the influence of honey quality. However, further studies are needed to establish the relationship between the chemical profile and mead flavor perception.

Characterization of a new type of mead fermented with Cannabis sativa L. (hemp)

“…This range was similar to the data obtained by Chitarrini et al. (2020) for mead prepared with black currants. The ethanol formed during fermentation helps to preserve and extract the phenolic compounds present in honey, such as flavonoids and phenolic acids (Czabaj et al., 2017 ; Sacchi, Bisson, & Adams, 2005), but yeasts can also influence the presence of polyphenols in mead, as demonstrated for wine (Caridi, Cufari, Lovino, Palumbo, & Tedesco, 2004 ; Mangani, Buscioni, Guerrini, & Granchi, 2020).…”

“…Similar results were obtained in mead prepared with spices (Cuenca et al., 2016). The addition of hemp might have a positive effect on the fermentation process due to the increased content of polyphenols (Chitarrini et al., 2020).…”

“…The aroma of mead is derived from aromatic compounds in the floral source of both honey and in hemp. The difference in the concentration of compounds between samples 0 and C indicated the influence of selected yeasts and added ingredients on the organoleptic profile of the final product (Chitarrini et al., 2020). Regarding alcohols, the most abundant was isoamyl alcohol, which influenced the alcoholic and pungent smell, and it has been found in many fermented alcoholic beverages as well as in mead (Pereira et al., 2013.…”

Special Issue “Volatile Compounds and Smell Chemicals (Odor and Aroma) of Food”

“…Six of the research papers were mainly focused on the sensory aspects related to volatile compounds [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ], and another six papers investigated aspects related to processing [ 7 , 8 , 9 ], five papers were more oriented to the quality of the products [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ], cultivation practice [ 15 ] and storage [ 16 , 17 ], two further papers were more focused on measurement techniques and procedures [ 18 , 19 ]. Lastly, the two review papers reviewed the sensory characteristics (flavour and texture) linked to a physiological disorder of apple, namely watercore [ 20 ] and the influence of ruminant diet on the volatile flavour compounds in cheese [ 21 ].…”

“…In a further work, Chitarrini and co-workers [ 11 ] used the same approach (gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and sensory analysis) to describe four different honey wines: multi-floral blossom honey and a forest honeydew honey with and without the addition of black currant during fermentation.…”