Non-Alcoholic, Naturally-Carbonated Beverage from Vitis Vinifera Using Saccharomyces Cerevisae Isolated from Cheese Whey

In the present work a pure yeast culture was isolated from cheese whey and identified by 26S rDNA sequencing as Saccharomyces cerevisiae NRRL Y-12632. This yeast was used to produce low alcoholic self carbonated beverage from grape juice, grape: Kinnow juice (2:1) and grape: Pomegranate juice (2:1) under optimized conditions. The physicochemical properties of 3 days fermented grape: Pomegranate beverage (2:1) were pH 3.87, TSS 15°B, CO₂ content 0.09 bar, acidity 0.24%, sugar-acid ratio 63.34% and alcohol 0.06% (v/v). The changes in the physicochemical properties recorded were pH 3.08, TSS 14.8°B, CO₂ content 0.14 bar, acidity 0.35%, sugar-acid ratio 42.04% and alcohol 0.10% (v/v) after storage for 30 days at 4°C without adding any preservative. Among the four beverages, grape: Pomegranate beverage (2:1) was highly acceptable when compared on 9 point hedonic scale. Naturally produced CO₂ was found to give tangy taste to the beverage along with antimicrobial properties. This technology can be a useful processing technology for perishable fruits and vegetables and can also help to overcome their seasonal overabundance.