AU2018100805A4 - Flavour retention in the production of distilled potable beverages made from selected vegetables. - Google Patents

Abstract

A method to improve the flavour of fermented then distilled selected vegetable potable spirit or liqueur beverages, made from physically damaged, or miss-shaped/sized, or otherwise commercially non-standard and standard product. By increasing the flavour of selected vegetable distilled beverages, it should increase consumer acceptability and in turn find a commercial recovery option for some previously discarded or reduced value non-standard agricultural products.

Description

A method to improve the flavour of fermented then distilled selected vegetable potable spirit or liqueur beverages, made from physically damaged, or miss-shaped/sized, or otherwise commercially non-standard and standard product.

By increasing the flavour of selected vegetable distilled beverages, it should increase consumer acceptability and in turn find a commercial recovery option for some previously discarded or reduced value non-standard agricultural products.

Claims (8)

1. A process to make impact damaged, or miss-shaped, or otherwise commercially non-standard and standard vegetables suitable for fermentation and distillation, but also maximises the retention of phytochemicals, especially flavonoids with the following procedures: -

   1. Vegetables are brushed, washed and dried after harvesting in the usual manner.
2. 2. Immersed for 1-2 minutes in 60% to 70% industrial grade ethanol and drained. The drained ethanol is filtered and retained in a suitable closed vessel. This ethanol is available for sterilising reuse on subsequent batches of vegetables, until it becomes sufficiently diluted by either evaporation or the slight dehydration effect from each batch of vegetables.
3. 3. The vegetables are then lightly rinsed with chlorine filtered potable water, drained then the diluted ethanol rinse water is filtered and retained in a separate vessel. Subsequent rinse waters containing some ethanol and the expended concentrated ethanol in step 2 are mixed together. This diluted ethanol is then concentrated and purified by distillation in a reflux column still, which makes it suitable for its recycling use in step 2.
4. 4. This ethanol sterilisation method ensures that fungal or bacterial infections don't proliferate in subsequent fermentation vats. These infections could be encouraged to grow aerobically and/or anaerobically by yeast's usual warming exothermic fermentation reaction. (Most infections will spoil the flavour of the fermented liquid).
5. 5. Depending on the vegetable type, it is then coarsely chopped or sliced, then dry heated to 40- 60 C in a vacuum cooker at approximately -1 atmospheres. This method follows the sous vide cooking principle, which retains more flavonoids.
6. 6. After returning the cooked vegetables to normal atmospheric pressure, they are liquified with some added potable, but chlorine filtered water, then amylase enzyme is added to convert the starch to sugar.
7. 7. This liquid then undergoes yeast fermentation in the standard manner, then is double distilled in a copper pot still, as this distillation process is best for optimising distillate flavours.
8. 8. The flavoured concentrated ethanol from the second distillation can then be used as food safe distilled alcoholic beverages. Distillation is important, as in its fermented wine state I would not advocate that wine would be completely free of food safety compromising bacteria. (Step 2 concentrated ethanol sterilisation is to make the products suitable for yeast fermentation reactions only)