Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Arbutus unedo L. Spirit: Does the Water Addition Before Fermentation Matters?

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
INCREaSE (INCREaSE 2017)

  • 729 Accesses

Abstract

The strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) is a shrub that plays an important role in the territorial sustainability due to the production of a spirit known as “aguardente de medronho” made by distilling its fermented fruits. This work intends to study the influence of adding water to arbutus fruits before the alcoholic fermentation, on the chemical composition of the obtained distillates. A set of fruits from the same orchard was used to fill fermentation containers in presence and absence of water addition. After the fermentation the distillation was performed in a copper small-sized alembic (boiler-15 L capacity). In the distillates, pH, volatile acidity, titratable acidity and volatile composition were determined. At the same time, the heart fractions, obtained in an industrial copper column alembic (boiler, column-200 L capacity), proceeding from the same fermented containers were evaluated. The statistical analysis of the results shows a significant effect of the water addition on the composition of the distillates. The distillates resulting from fruits that fermented with water, present higher pH, lower acidity, lower acetaldehyde amounts and higher amounts in some fusel alcohols than the distillates resulting from fruits that fermented without water. This effect is not so pronounced in the distillates obtained in industrial conditions. In this case, the addition of water significantly influenced the amounts of titratable acidity, acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate in the first harvesting and the pH and isobutanol amounts in the second harvesting.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 259.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Galego, L., Almeida, V.: Aguardente de frutos e licores do Algarve. História, técnica de produção e legislação. 1st ed. Edições Colibri, Lisboa (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Gomes, F., Botelho, G., Franco J., Rodrigues, I., Henriques, M., Pato, L., Santos S., Plácito, F., Clemente, M., Melo, F., Figueiredo, P., Gama, J., Machado, H., Santos, C., Costa, R., Guerreiro, A., Antunes, D.: Valorização dos recursos endógenos da floresta: o medronheiro e o castanheiro. SCAP (2017, in press)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Alarcão-Silva, M.L.C.M.M., Leitão, A.E.B., Azinheira, H.G., Leitão, M.C.A.: The Arbutus berry: studies on its color and chemical characteristics at two mature stages. J. Food Compos. Anal. 14, 27–35 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Botelho, G., Gomes, F., Ferreira, F.M., Caldeira, I.: Influence of maturation degree of Arbutus (Arbutus unedo L.) fruits in spirit composition and quality. Int. J. Biol. Biomol. Agric. Food Biotechnol. Eng. 9(6), 551–556 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Cavaco, T., Longuinho, C., Quintas, C., Saraiva de Carvalho, I.: Chemical and microbial changes during the natural fermentation of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) fruits. J. Food Biochem. 31, 715–725 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. González, E.A., Agrasar, A.T., Castro, M.P., Fernández, I.O., Guerra, N.P.: Solid-state fermentation of red raspberry (Rubus ideaus L.) and arbutus berry (Arbutus unedo L.) and characterization of their distillates. Food Res. Int. 44, 1419–1426 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Santo, D.E., Galego, L., Gonçalves, T., Quintas, C.: Yeast diversity in the Mediterranean strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) fruits’ fermentations. Food Res. Int. 47, 45–50 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Botelho, G., Gomes, F., Caldeira, I.: A importância da tecnologia de fermentação e de destilação na qualidade da aguardente de medronho. In: Gomes, F., Sousa, R.M., Guilherme, R. (eds) “II Jornadas do Medronho”, Actas Portuguesas de Horticultura, nº 24, pp. 62–71. APH, Coimbra (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Galego, L.R.: Optimização de parâmetros para a aguardente de medronho. Dissertação de Mestrado. Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Galego, L., Botelho, G., da Silva, J.P.: Arbutus unedo L. fruit distillates and the requirement for further quality specification. In: Proceedings 12th Meeting on Food Chemistry, pp. 191, LP, Lisboa (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Soufleros, E.H., Mygdaline, S.A., Natskoulis, P.: Production process and characterization of the traditional Greek fruit distillate “Koumaro” by aromatic and mineral composition. J. Food Compos. Anal. 18, 699–716 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Botelho, G., Galego L.: Manual de Boas Práticas de Fabrico de Aguardente de Medronho. 1ª Ed. Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra, Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra, CERNAS. Coimbra (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Botelho, G., Galego, L.: Manual de Boas Práticas de Fabrico de Aguardente de Medronho. 2ª Ed. Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra, Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra, CERNAS. Coimbra (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  14. OIV: Compendium of international methods of analysis of spirituous beverages of vitivinicultural origin. OIV, Paris (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Belchior, A.P., Carvalho, E.: Acidez total. In: Métodos de Análise de Aguardentes. I. Análise clássica, pp. 20–24. Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e de Extensão Rural-Estação Vitivinícola Nacional, Dois Portos (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Luís, A., Mota, D., Anjos, O., Caldeira, I.: Single-laboratory validation of determination of acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate, metanol and fusel alcohols in wine spirits, brandies and grape marc spirits using GC-FID. Ciência Técnica Vitivinícola 26(2), 69–76 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Faísca, M.: Pesquisa de marcadores químicos e sensoriais associados à fração final de destilação em aguardentes vínicas. Relatório de estágio. Instituto Superior de Engenharia. Universidade do Algarve, Faro (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  18. European Regulation EC nº 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2008 on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89, Official J. European Communities, L39, 16–54 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Decree-Law nº. 238/2000 de 26 de Setembro. Diário da República I série A, Imprensa Nacional 223 pp. 5145–5147, 200

    Google Scholar 

  20. Santo, D.M.C.E.: Controlo e análise do processo de produção de Aguardente de Medronho na Serra do Caldeirão. Dissertação de Mestrado. Instituto Superior de Engenharia, Universidade do Algarve, Faro (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Reazin, G.H., Baldwin, S., Scales, H.S., Washington, H.W., Andreasen, A.A.: Determination of the congeners produced from ethanol during whisky maturation. J. AOAC 59, 770–776 (1976)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Nykänen, L., Suomalainen, H.: Aroma of Beer, Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverages. D. Reidel Pulbishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Versini, G., Moser S., Franco, M.A., Manca, G.: Characterisation of strawberry tree distillate (Arbutus unedo L.) producted in Sardinia. J. Commodity Sci. Technol. Quality, 52, 197–206 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Versini, G., Seeber, R., Dalla Serra, A., Sferlazzo, G., de Carvalho, B., Reniero, F.: Aroma compounds of arbutus distillates”. In: G. Charalambous (ed.) Proceed. 8th Intern. Flavor Conference Recent developments in food science and nutrition. Food flavors: generation, analysis and process influence, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, pp. 1779–1990 (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Siu, M.T., Shapiro, A.M., Wiley, M.J., Wells, P.G.: A role for glutathione, independent of oxidative stress, in the developmental toxicity of methanol. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 273, 508–515 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Gnekow, B., Ough, C.S.: Methanol in wines and musts: source and amounts. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 27, 1–6 (1976)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Léauté, R.: Distillation in alembic. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 41(1), 90–103 (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Madrera, R.R., Valles, B.S., Hevia, A.G., Fernandez, O.G., Tascón, N.F., Alonso, J.J.: Production and composition of cider spirits distilled in “alquitara”. J. Agric Food Chem. 54(26), 9992–9997 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Ribéreau-Gayon, P., Dubourdieu, D. Donèche, B., Lonvaud, A.: Handbook of Enology: The microbiology of wine and vinifications, vol. 1, 2nd edn. Wiley, France (2006)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the technical collaboration of Amélia Soares, Deolinda Mota and Otília Cerveira from INIAV and for the fruits supply by the producer Jorge Simões (Estreito, Oleiros). Funding: FCT project PTDC/AGR-FOR/3746/2012; ProDeR project nº 43748-medida 4.1; UID/AMB/00681/2013 for CERNAS and UID/AGR/00115/2013 for ICAAM.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, IP - Unidade Estratégica de Investigação e Serviços de Tecnologia e Segurança Alimentar - Laboratório de Enologia - Unidade de Investigação de Viticultura e Enologia. Dois Portos, Quinta da Almoínha, 2565-191, Dois Portos, Portugal

    Ilda Caldeira

  2. ICAAM – Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas, Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7002-554, Évora, Portugal

    Ilda Caldeira

  3. Centro de Estudos de Recursos Naturais, Ambiente e Sociedade (CERNAS), Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra, Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra, Bencanta, 3045-601, Coimbra, Portugal

    Filomena Gomes & Goreti Botelho

Authors
  1. Ilda Caldeira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Filomena Gomes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Goreti Botelho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ilda Caldeira .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Engineering, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    António Mortal

  2. Institute of Engineering, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    Jaime Aníbal

  3. Institute of Engineering, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    Jânio Monteiro

  4. Institute of Engineering, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    Cláudia Sequeira

  5. Institute of Engineering, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    Jorge Semião

  6. Institute of Engineering, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    Manuela Moreira da Silva

  7. Institute of Engineering, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    Miguel Oliveira

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Caldeira, I., Gomes, F., Botelho, G. (2018). Arbutus unedo L. Spirit: Does the Water Addition Before Fermentation Matters?. In: Mortal, A., et al. INCREaSE . INCREaSE 2017. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70272-8_16

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70272-8_16

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-70271-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-70272-8

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation