Improving the aroma of plum spirit obtained from small fruits of cv ‘Čačanska Rodna’

Abstract

‘Čačanska Rodna’ is very fruitful and has a tendency to overcrop. Therefore, for its successful growing, pruning is recommended as a mandatory measure. Regardless of the pruning intensity, a larger or smaller proportion of small fruits (<25 g) are always present on the tree. Due to their small size and inappropriate color, such fruits are not suitable for drying, fresh consumption and freezing. In Serbia, such small fruits are used for the production of plum spirit. The traditional method of plum spirit production includes crushing the fruits and spontaneous fermentation of the mash with stones, followed by double distillation, which results in overexpressed and often unpleasant stone-like aroma and, in the case of long and inadequate storage of the fermented mash, an acidic taste of plum spirit too. The aim of the study was to examine whether modifications of traditional plum spirit production method, which include a shorter storage time of the fermented mash, removal the stones before alcoholic fermentation, pulping of fruits and use of selected yeasts, can improve the smell and taste of plum spirit obtained from small fruits of cv ‘Čačanska Rodna’. The plum spirits obtained by six different processing methods, including the traditional one, differed significantly in terms of the contents of 21 out of 24 analyzed volatile compounds, as well as of sensory ratings. The plum spirit produced from the mash of crushed stoneless plums, spontaneously fermented and distilled immediately after finished alcoholic fermentation was evaluated with the highest sensory score, even higher than the plum spirits obtained by the most commonly used method in modern distilleries today (spirits from the pulped stoneless plums, fermented with selected yeasts and distilled immediately after finished fermentation). By choosing adequate processing method, excellent quality plum spirit can be obtained even from the small fruits of cv ‘Čačanska Rodna’.