Abstract
Huangjiu (Chinese rice wine) has been consumed for centuries in Asian countries and is known for its unique flavor and subtle taste. The flavor compounds of Huangjiu are derived from a wide range of sources, such as raw materials, microbial metabolic activities during fermentation, and chemical reactions that occur during aging. Of these sources, microorganisms have the greatest effect on the flavor quality of Huangjiu. To enrich the microbial diversity, Huangjiu is generally fermented under an open environment, as this increases the complexity of its microbial community and flavor compounds. Thus, understanding the formation of flavor compounds in Huangjiu will be beneficial for producing a superior flavored product. In this paper, a critical review of aspects that may affect the formation of Huangjiu flavor compounds is presented. The selection of appropriate raw materials and the improvement of fermentation technologies to promote the flavor quality of Huangjiu are discussed. In addition, the effects of microbial community composition, metabolic function of predominant microorganisms, and dynamics of microbial community on the flavor quality of Huangjiu are examined. This review thus provides a theoretical basis for manipulating the fermentation process by using selected microorganisms to improve the overall flavor quality of Huangjiu.
Highlights
Huangjiu (Chinese rice wine), which is brewed with cereal grain, yeast, and Qu, has a history dating back more than 5,000 years (Varela et al, 2015)
According to the report released by the National Statistics Bureau of China1, consumption of alcoholic beverages in China exceeded 800 billion Yuan in 2019, whereas the market share of the Huangjiu industry is significantly smaller than other alcoholic beverages in China
Primary fermentation assists the growth of yeast, which ferments sugars to ethanol, while secondary fermentation performed under low temperatures increases the accumulation of aroma compounds (Luo et al, 2008; Cao et al, 2010)
Summary
Huangjiu (Chinese rice wine), which is brewed with cereal grain, yeast, and Qu (a saccharification starter, which is similar to the “koji” starter used for making Japanese sake), has a history dating back more than 5,000 years (Varela et al, 2015). Soaking is one of the most important processes during Huangjiu brewing and directly affects the initial fermentation acidity and flavor quality of the resulting wines. Compared to Huangjiu brewed using the rice soaking process, Huangjiu produced with the addition of Lactobacillus exhibited a higher content of esters and a lower content of alcohols, which led to a more soft-tasting Huangjiu after a shorter aging time (Regueiro et al, 2017; Wei et al, 2017). The composition of microbial communities in Huangjiu is complicated This is due to microorganisms derived from the yeast starter and Qu, the open fermentation environment, and the introduction of environmental microorganisms by the re-use of rice soaking water, which increases the diversity and complexity of the microbial communities in Huangjiu (Chen C. et al, 2020).
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