FERMENTATION BIOTECHNOLOGY IN THE CREATION OF NATURAL 'SODA'

The present work aimed to produce a fermented, carbonated and naturally pigmented beverage, inspired by traditional beverages such as Spritbier Tepache, and aiming to offer an alternative to industrial soft drinks. Two flavors were developed: the first, with water (750 mL/L), orange (225 mL/L), lemon (31 mL/L), Clitoria ternatea flowers (15 units/L), sugar (113 g/L) and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) (0.5 g/L); the second, with water (500 mL/L), pineapple (750 g/L), tonka beans (Dipteryx odorata) (2 units/L), sugar (113 g/L) and biological yeast (0.5 g/L). For each formulation, a version with lower sugar content (25 g/L) was also prepared using xylitol (88 g/L). Fermentation occurred in two stages: initial aerobic phase of 24 h, followed by anaerobic fermentation for natural carbonation. Soluble solids (°Brix) were analyzed before and after fermentation, pH, titratable acidity and alcohol content. The data obtained were analyzed by Student's t-test (p<0.05) using the R software. The initial values of soluble solids were 14.6; 14.0 (p=0.0026); 10.8 and 10.8 (p=NA) °Brix for the first flavor and its sugar-reduced version, and the second flavor and its xylitol version, respectively. After fermentation, they reduced to 5.86; 10.76 (p=9.408x10-6); 6.2 and 9.2 (p=3.276x10-6) °Brix, evidencing the consumption of sugars by the yeasts. In xylitol formulations, the reduction was lower due to the inability of the yeasts to metabolize it, maintaining the sweet taste