Applicability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Strains for the Production of Fruit Wines Using Cocoa Honey Complemented with Cocoa Pulp

RESEARCH BACKGROUND: Cocoa honey and cocoa pulp are both highly appreciated fruit pulp, but until now, cocoa honey has been less processed than cocoa pulp. In this work, we investigate the applicability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains to ferment cocoa honey complemented with cocoa pulp to obtain fruit wines and improve cocoa honey commercialization. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: The strain, previously isolated from cachaçaria distilleries in Brazil, was selected based on its fermentation performance. The following conditions for fermentation with S. cerevisiae L63 were then studied: volume fraction of cocoa honey (φ(CH)) complemented with cocoa pulp, sucrose addition (γ(suc)), temperature (t) and inoculum size (N(o)). The best conditions were applied in order to obtain fermentation profiles. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: S. cerevisiae L63 (N(o)=10(7)–10(8) cell/mL) is capable of fermenting φ(CH)=90 and 80% for 24 or 48 h with γ(suc)=50 and 100 g/L at t=28–30 °C resulting in wines with ethanol volume fractions from 8 to 14%. Additionally, the wine produced from φ(CH)=90% had lower residual sugar concentration (<35 g/L) than the wine produced from φ(CH)=80% (~79 g/L) which could be classified as a sweet wine. In general, S. cerevisiae L63 resulted in a similar fermentation performance as a commercial strain tested, indicating its potential for fruit pulp fermentation. NOVELTY AND SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTION: Saccharomyces cerevisiae L63 can ferment cocoa honey complemented with cocoa pulp to produce fruit wines with good commercial potential, which may also benefit small cocoa producers by presenting a product with greater added value.