Abstract:
Artificial vinegar consumption is associated with health concerns such as allergic
reactions, digestive disturbances, and impaired blood sugar regulation. Developing
fruit-based vinegar offers a safer and more health-conscious alternative. This research
aimed to develop a production process for star fruit-based vinegar while evaluating
its physicochemical properties, sensory attributes, and shelf life. Two treatments of
star fruit juice were prepared, the first treatment was supplemented with sugar,
whereas the second treatment was not. Both underwent 28 days of alcoholic
fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae to convert sugar into ethanol.
Subsequently, three concentrations (30% (v/v), 40% (v/v), and 50% (v/v)) of
Acetobacter spp. were applied to convert ethanol into acetic acid. After 168 hours of
acetic fermentation, the treatments having the highest acetic acid contents (4.11% and
3.83%) were selected for sensory evaluation. The highest acetic acid content was
given by 50% (v/v) Acetobacter spp. concentration. Sensory evaluation was
conducted with thirty untrained panelists, who were served a vinegar-added pickle
mixture. The sugar-added star fruit vinegar was selected as the most preferred
treatment. The titratable acidity, pH, total soluble solids (TSS), ethanol, specific
gravity, methanol and total phenol content of selected vinegar were 3.83%, 3.37,
7.47%, 8.53%, 1.02 g cm-3, 191.82 mg L-1, and 0.05 mg L-1 respectively. Shelf-life
evaluation included physicochemical and microbial analyses over 28 days. Results
showed no significant difference (p>0.05) in TSS (7.37±0.06), pH value (3.37±0.18),
and titratable acidity (3.80±0.01) during the storage period. Microbial analysis (yeast
and mold counts) confirmed the product's safety for consumption up to 28 days. In
conclusion, star fruit-based vinegar with acceptable acidity, organoleptic properties
and 28-days shelf life can successfully be developed presenting a promising
alternative to artificial vinegar.
