Views: 7 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2024-08-28 Origin: Site
The production of vinegar is an oxidative fermentation process in which acetobacter utilizes oxygen (O2) from the air and a dilute ethanol solution to produce water and acetic acid. Vinegar consists of an aqueous solution of acetic acid, water, and trace amounts of other chemicals. The concentration of acetic acid can vary. Vinegar contains about 5-8% acetic acid by volume.
Step 1 - Alcoholic Fermentation
Vinegar can be made from many fruit and grains, such as grapes, apples, oats, malt, barley, sugar, beer, rice, etc. The juice formed by these raw materials contains sugars, which yeast uses to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide gas.
(Yeast) + Sugar → Ethanol + 2 CO2
Step 2 – Acetic Acid Fermentation
Two well-known acetic acid bacteria are – Gluconobacter and Acetobacter. Acetobacter is a relatively better acid-producing bacteria. Under the action of Acetobacter, the alcohol produced in the previous process reacts with oxygen in the atmosphere to produce acetic acid and water.
Usually, the different flavors and aromas of vinegar are caused by organic acids and esters in fruits or other raw materials.
(Acetobacter) + Ethanol → Acetic acid + H2O
Different methods of vinegar production
Vinegar production technologies range from traditional techniques using surface culture and wooden barrels (Orleans process) to submerged fermentation. Many foods contain vinegar as a key ingredient. The necessity of large quantities of vinegar requires the use of industrial fermentation systems that can reliably produce controlled amounts of vinegar. A large number of technological innovations have been made to increase the industrial production of vinegar. Generally speaking, these improvements speed up the process of converting ethanol into acetic acid when acetic acid bacteria are present.
Vinegar production flow chart
Fruit grain extract + yeast
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Maturation
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Filtration
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Pasteurization
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Vinegar bottling
