Chemical and volatile composition of Palinka produced using different commercial yeast strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

P ' alinka is Hungarian traditional alcoholic drink, and its quality is strongly depending on applied yeast strain. Unfortunately, all commercial yeast strains used the production of p ' alinka are selected for oenological purpose, and thus the efficacy and aroma releasing capacity are vary depending on the type and quality of fruit used. In this study, the fermentation efficacy of nine commercial yeast strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was focused. All strains were able to do alcoholic fermentation of apple juice quite efficiently, and the simple sugars (fructose, glucose and sucrose) were almost exhausted at the end of fermentation. Meanwhile, the alcohol production capacity and yield were no significant differences (around 9.17 v/v %-9.43 v/v %), whereas the ability of sugar consumption of strains Uvaferm Danstil A and Fermicru AR2 was stronger than others. The differences in the concentration and composition of volatile compounds were recorded. The highest levels of total volatile com-pounds were observed in samples fermented with Uvaferm Danstil A, Fermiblanc Arom, Vin-O-Ferm Roses, and Fermicru AR2. Meanwhile total volatile compounds, 2-methyl-1-propanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, total higher al-cohols, ethyl acetate, and total esters were considered as key parameters for describing the profile of fermented apple juices, whereas total fusel alcohols, 2-methyl-1-propanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, and total volatile compounds were characteristic indicators of samples fermented with Uvaferm Danstil A. This work provides very good information of commercial yeast strains for industrial p ' alinka production.

Automated summary

This study focused on the fermentation efficacy of nine commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains and analyzed the differences in concentration and composition of volatile compounds. The results showed variations in sugar consumption capacity among different strains, while total esters, volatile compounds, and other compounds were identified as key parameters for describing the characteristics of fermented apple juices.