Raw Materials and Pretreatment Methods for Vinegar Production

Sofia Maina, Aikaterini Papadaki, Vasiliki Kachrimanidou, Effimia Eriotou, and Nikolaos Kopsahelis* Chapter Authors: Sofia Maina (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7896-7647">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7896-7647) Aikaterini Papadaki (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5135-8649">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5135-8649) Vasiliki Kachrimanidou (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0685-7083">https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0685-7083) Effimia Eriotou (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2678-5881">https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2678-5881) Nikolaos Kopsahelis (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1861-0208">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1861-0208) Affiliations Sofia Maina and Aikaterini Papadaki Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55, Athens, Greece Vasiliki Kachrimanidou Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, The University of Reading, PO Box 226, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6 AP, UK Effimia Eriotou and Nikolaos Kopsahelis* Department of Food Science and Technology, Ionian University, Argostoli 28100, Kefalonia, Greece *Correspondence to: N. Kopsahelis (Email: kopsahelis@upatras.gr) Vinegar is a global everyday food commodity, consumed either directly or used for the manufacture of various food products. A variety of raw materials can be used for vinegar production, each requiring a different pretreatment step to achieve an efficient production of a high-quality vinegar. This chapter presents the synergies between the composition of different fruit, vegetables, cereals, and other raw materials, with respect to the pretreatment methods, production processes, and the final product quality. The most prominent effect of the pretreatment methods is the breakdown of complex polysaccharides and oligosaccharides to simpler sugars that can be fermented from yeasts to ethanol, for an efficient subsequent oxidation of the ethanol to acetic acid. Also, the presence of substances such as proteins, pectins, and essential oils has a significant effect on vinegar processing. An extraction/removal step is often applied for these substances contributing to the process efficiency and product quality. Current research on vinegar production is directed towards the development of novel pretreatment technologies and their effect on the sensory characteristics of vinegar. Another important field of research is the biodiversity of the microflora associated with vinegar production with respect to the quality of the final product.