Quality enhancement and time reduction in soaking green plum wine using pulsed electric field

Abstract

The soaking plum wine production is a time-intensive process that relies on the effective extraction of flavor compounds, colorants, and aromas from green plums during soaking. In this study, we explored the application of pulsed electric field (PEF) pretreatment as a novel approach to improve the quality and shorten the production cycle of plum wine. The optimization of PEF pretreatment parameters (4 kV/cm, a pulse count of 5000, a pulse width of 10 μs, and a pulse frequency of 80 Hz) was conducted based on the disintegration index Z-value of green plum cells. Results revealed that PEF pretreatment positively influenced several key parameters by facilitating the dissolution of organic acids, phenolic compounds and aroma profile, which contribute to color and flavor in plum wine. The study highlights the potential of PEF as a valuable tool in soaking plum wine, for enhancing the efficiency and quality of fruit wine production.