Kinetic Evaluation of the Production of Mead from a Non-<i>Saccharomyces</i> Strain
Jorge Alberto Jose-Salazar,
Christian Bryan Ballinas-Cesatti,
Diana Maylet Hernández-Martínez,
Eliseo Cristiani-Urbina,
Guiomar Melgar-Lalanne,
Liliana Morales-Barrera
Affiliations
Jorge Alberto Jose-Salazar
Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. Wilfrido Massieu s/n, Unidad Profesional Adolfo López Mateos, Ciudad de México 07738, Mexico
Christian Bryan Ballinas-Cesatti
Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. Wilfrido Massieu s/n, Unidad Profesional Adolfo López Mateos, Ciudad de México 07738, Mexico
Diana Maylet Hernández-Martínez
Departamento de Biofísica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala s/n, Col. Santo Tomás, Ciudad de México 11340, Mexico
Eliseo Cristiani-Urbina
Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. Wilfrido Massieu s/n, Unidad Profesional Adolfo López Mateos, Ciudad de México 07738, Mexico
Guiomar Melgar-Lalanne
Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Veracruzana, Av. Castelazo Anaya s/n, Industrial Ánimas, Xalapa 91190, Veracruz, Mexico
Liliana Morales-Barrera
Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. Wilfrido Massieu s/n, Unidad Profesional Adolfo López Mateos, Ciudad de México 07738, Mexico
There is a growing market for craft beverages with unique flavors. This study aimed to obtain a palate-pleasing mead derived from Pichia kudriavzevii 4A as a monoculture. Different culture media were evaluated to compare the fermentation kinetics and final products. The crucial factors in the medium were ~200 mg L−1 of yeast assimilable nitrogen and a pH of 3.5–5.0. A panel of judges favored the mead derived from Pichia kudriavzevii 4A (fermented in a medium with honey initially at 23 °Bx) over a commercial sample produced from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, considering its appearance, fruity and floral flavors (provided by esters, aldehydes, and higher alcohols), and balance between sweetness (given by the 82.91 g L−1 of residual sugars) and alcohol. The present mead had an 8.57% v/v ethanol concentration, was elaborated in 28 days, and reached a maximum biomass growth (2.40 g L−1) on the same fermentation day (6) that the minimum level of pH was reached. The biomass growth yield peaked at 24 and 48 h (~0.049 g g−1), while the ethanol yield peaked at 24 h (1.525 ± 0.332 g g−1), in both cases declining thereafter. The Gompertz model adequately describes the kinetics of sugar consumption and the generation of yeast biomass and ethanol. Pathogenic microorganisms, methanol, lead, and arsenic were absent in the mead. Thus, Pichia kudriavzevii 4A produced a safe and quality mead with probable consumer acceptance.