Mexico is a diversity rich country in culture, food. It has been related since pre-Hispanic times by the fermented beverages production such as tepache and pulque, where its consumption has been related to the health care. The Mexican Vanilla (<i>Vanilla planifolia</i>, Jackson) is considered one of the most important worldwide flavorings. Once it has harvested, it must undergo a traditional curing process to develop its characteristic aroma and flavor (more than one hundred compounds). Once it has cured, vanilla bean produces a large amount of aromatic, phenolic, organic acids, fatty acids and essential oil compounds, which together give it a high antioxidant capacity. The commercialized gourmet beans are in specific sectors, while the smaller pods are used to produce an alcoholic extract corresponding to 2-3% of the vanilla production.<br/>The present work aims to evaluate the use of small cured vanilla beans, subjecting them to a fermentation process using microorganisms to obtain a drink whit low alcohol content (digestive drink) rich in phenolic and aromatic compounds with antioxidant capacity.<br/>According to the preliminary results of the proximal chemical analysis, the cured beans contain a high amount of carbohydrates (79.26%) of which approximately 60% corresponds to fiber, which is partially hydrolyzed during the curing process by the endophyte flora. In such way these storage sugars and those from the hydrolysis of structural polysaccharides remain available to be fermented and obtain a beverage with flavor, aroma, quality and biological properties.

Production of a fermented beverage from vanilla coproducts

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.