Effect of water deficit stress during fruit cultivation on the carbon stable isotopes of organic acids in Japanese apricots and liqueur prepared from these fruits

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to assess the impact of water deficit stress during fruit cultivation on the δ13C values of citric acid and malic acid in Japanese apricots at different ripeness stages and their resulting liqueurs. Our experiments show that water deficit stress increases the δ13C values of citric acid and malic acid in tree-ripened fruits, counteracting the typical decrease during ripening. However, water deficit treatment has a minimal effect on the δ13C values of organic acids in green fruits. Regardless of fruit ripeness or water status, the δ13C values of organic acids in fruits are directly reflected in the resulting liqueurs. Overall, water deficit stress during fruit cultivation has the potential to promote similarity in the δ13C values of organic acids across fruits at different ripeness levels, reducing variations among liqueurs derived from fruits of varying ripeness levels.

Evaluation of Dynamic Changes and Regularity of Volatile Flavor Compounds for Different Green Plum (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc) Varieties during the Ripening Process by HS-GC-IMS with PLS-DA

Headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry and partial-least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were adopted to analyze the rule of change in flavor substances for different varieties of green plums at different levels of maturity (S1-immature, S2-commercially mature, and S3-fully mature). The results showed that 68 kinds of volatile flavor substances were identified in all green plum samples. The types and contents of such volatile substances experienced a V-shaped trend with an increasing degree of green plum maturity. During the S1 and S2 stages, aldehydes, ketones, and a small amount of alcohols were the main volatile flavor substances in the green plum samples. During the S3 stage, esters and alcohols were the most important volatile flavor components in the green plum pulp samples, followed by terpenes and ketones. YS had the most types and highest contents of volatile flavor substances in three stages, followed by GC and DZ. By using the PLS-DA method, this study revealed the differences in flavor of the different varieties of green plums at different maturity stages, and it identified eight common characteristic volatile flavor substances, such as ethyl acetate, 3-methylbutan-1-ol, and 2-propanone, produced by the different green plum samples during the ripening process, as well as the characteristic flavor substances of green plums at each maturity stage (S1-S3).

Current Technologies to Accelerate the Aging Process of Alcoholic Beverages: A Review

The aging process contributes to the sensory evolution of alcoholic beverages, producing changes in the color and flavor of the final product. Traditionally, aging has occurred by storing beverages in wooden barrels for several months or years. To meet the demand for aged beverages, there is a need for large storage areas, a large number of wooden barrels, and, consequently, large volumes of stored product. Evaporation losses can also occur. In addition to the reactions of the beverage itself, there is also a transfer of wood compounds to the drink, which is later modified by successive oxidation reactions. This study addresses the alternative methods for accelerating the aging stage of beverages. These include the use of wood fragments, ultrasound, micro-oxygenation, pulsed electric field, high hydrostatic pressure, and microwave and gamma irradiation. These methods can be applied to optimize the process of extracting wood compounds, promote free radical formation, reduce oxidation reaction time, and accelerate yeast autolysis time. This study provides examples of some of the aforementioned methods. These technologies add value to the aging process, since they contribute to the reduction of production costs and, consequently, can increase commercial competitiveness.

Untargeted foodomics reveals molecular mechanism of magnetic field effect on Feng-flavor Baijiu ageing

Ageing is a time-consuming step in Baijiu manufacture, stimulating an urgent requirement of optimization. Variation of artificial aged Feng-flavor Baijiu by inhomogeneous alternating magnetic field was investigated through quantitative foodomics combined with confirmed ultra high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-orbitaltrap high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap). A total of 153 substances were identified with significant variables (p < 0.05, VIP > 1) and 16 metabolic pathways related to Feng-flavor Baijiu functions were obtained. The method showed good accuracy with recovery values between 80.4% and 117.4% and precision lower than 9.8% for all characteristic substances. Limit of detection (LOD) was ranging between 1.6 and 10.0 μg/L with R² ≥ 0.99. Factor analysis demonstrated that ageing degree of magnetized samples increased with rise of magnetic field intensity and the maximum effect was equivalent to 12.81 years of natural ageing. The results of stoichiometric analysis revealed that regulation of magnetic field on proportion in Baijiu was mainly performed through entropy and the hydrogen bond strength of Baijiu molecules. Sensory evaluation illustrated that score of Baijiu samples reached the highest at 150 mT, demonstrating that magnetic field treatment can be considered as an optimized ageing means for Feng-flavor Baijiu.