Produção de vinagre gourmet a base de mirtilo e mel de abelhas meliponas

Abstract

Meliponinae (Tetragonisca angustula) bees honey and blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) foods are still little explored commercialy in Brazil. Possibly the low productivity of the honey and the lack of knowledge about blueberry cultivation be the determinant factors in the production of these foods. Such foods have in their composition appreciable content of bioactive compounds, that are responsible for biological functionalities as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral and anticarcinogenic properties, which could be exploited by the food industry. In this way, seeking to add value to raw materials of the region the present study aimed to use the blueberrie and meliponinae honey produced in the southwest of Paraná in the production of a like gourmet vinegar. The physico-chemical parameters of the honey were analyzed, subsequent the fermentative and oxidative parameters. The antioxidant potential and total phenolic contents were determinated for honey, melomel and vinegar. The acetic fermentation was conducted by the slow process (d'Orléans) in grapia wood barrel. The acetic acid biotransformation took place over 15 days at room temperature. At the end of the process was verified an average production of 41.21 g/L acetic acid. The product presented titratable acidity of 4.04 g/100mL and appreciable content of total phenolics (47.62 mg GAE/100mL). The vinegar produced also showed high antioxidant potential, which was verified by the methods of capture of free radicals DPPH• (46.53 μmol TE/100mL) and ABTS•+ (190.97 μmol TE/100mL) and reducing power of ferric ion, FRAP (872.28 μmol de FeSO4·7H2O eq./100mL). The combination of blueberry and meliponinae honey to the production of like gourmet vinegar can be a good option to add value to the chains involved in the process and contribute to the development of family-based farms.