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Fermentation of inulin |
R. AYALA, Industrial Vinicolas, Pedro Domecq SA, 17.5 Carretera Federal Mexico-Puebla, Los Reues La Paz, Mexico City, 56400, Mexico Tequila is a distilled beverage derived from the fermentation of the cooked core of the blue agave (Agave tequilana Weber), in which the main source of fermentable sugar is fructose. The manufacturing process involves harvesting of the “piña”, the stem of the agave plant with leaves removed, followed by cooking in an oven to convert polysaccharides (inulins) to a mixture principally of fructose and glucose. Sugars are extracted by milling and pressing and are fermented with yeast, typically Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in vats up to 49% sugar added from sources such as cane and corn. The fermented mash is the doubly distilled, and the finished product is diluted to give an alcohol content usually in a range 45 55%. The final product is colorless. Many of premium tequilas are aged in oak cask, which results in their acquiring a pale to golden yellow color. During the cooking process of Agave tequilana besides the hydrolysis of inulin to generate fermentable sugars, many volatiles, mainly Maillard compounds are produced, most of which may have a significant impact on the overall flavor of tequila. As in manyother alcoholic fermentations, along with ethanol production several compounds are produced, conferring to the final product particular organoleptic characteristics. Among these compounds, some of the most important are the higher alcohols and some esters compounds which are responsibles for the aroma productions that in combination during the wood of the cask produce a balanced tequila.
Session 94, Challenges of converting carbohydrates into flavors by fermentation
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