EFFECT OF pH AND ETHANOL CONTENT ON COLOR AND TURBIDITY PARAMETERS DURING FERMENTATION OF HONEY WORTS SUPPLEMENTED WITH SOURSOP (Annona muricata L.) AND COWPEA EXTRACT (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp), BY COMMERCIAL STRAIN OF Saccharomyces bayannus

The mead is a drink with 4 to 14% v/v of ethanol obtained by the alcoholic fermentation of honey and other raw materials, such as fruits and spices. The color and turbidity of beverages such as wines, cider, meads, among others, are important parameters that influence the acceptance of these beverages by consumers and that can be affected by the composition of the raw materials used in the elaboration of these physical-chemical parameters such as pH. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the influence of pH and volumetric content of ethanol (% v/v) during fermentation by the commercial strain of Saccharomyces Bayannus Premier Cuvée, Red Star®, of honey worts supplemented with soursop (10, 20, 30% w/v) and cowpea extract (30 g/L), on parameters such as color intensity (I), tint (T), percentage of yellow color (%yellow) and transmittance percentage at 660 nm. The honey worts with 20% m/v of soursop, whose pH ranged from 4.7 to 5.1, were those with the highest ethanol contents (15.3 to 15.5% v/v) and, at the same time, specific values of color intensity (0.606 to 0.608), tint (1.597 to 1.612) , percentages of yellow color (51.1 to 51.4%) and transmittance percentage at 660 nm (77.3 to 77.6%) were obtained in these worts. In view of the results obtained, it was possible to observe that the pH and the ethanol concentration exerted, together, influence on the color parameters and turbidity during the fermentation of honey worts supplemented with soursop and cowpea extract.