INFLUENCE OF APPLE JUICE TREATMENTS ON THE CIDER MAKING PROCESS

This study was conducted to examine the influence of the following apple juice treatments on different parameters of cidermaking process: sulphiting (50 mg/L of total SO 2 ), clarification with pectolytic enzymes (Ultrazym 100 G, 3 g/hL), and bentonite fining (100 g/hL). The different treatments slowed down alcoholic fermentation, the greatest effect being found for the combination of the three treatments. With respect to malolactic fermentation, must sulphiting, with or without the other two treatments, delayed this process, which took place after alcoholic fermentation. The low levels of lactic acid bacteria during this period can explain this delay. The only treatment that had any significant influence on volatile acidity was sulphiting, either on its own or in combination with the other treatments. Thus lower acetic acid levels were detected in ciders treated with SO 2 .