Abstract

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) is the common name for a tropical plant with edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit, consisting of coalesced berries. The ratio of 1: 4 (pineapple must: sugar) was used to produce wine using recipes A to D. A contained only natural yeast; B contained natural yeast augmented with granulated sugar; C contained natural yeast augmented with baker’s yeast and granulated sugar while D (control) contained granulated sugar and baker’s yeast. Wines produced after 144 h of fermentation had average values of 3.44, 3.32, 3.46 and 3.50 for pH; 0.583, 0.627, 0.715 and 0.666 for optical density; 0.999, 1.003, 0.998 and 0.993 for specific gravity; 6.67, 6.69, 6.75 and 6.72 for total aerobic count (Log₁₀ cfu/ml); 1.355, 1.355, 1.350 and 1.350 for % alcohol and 0.956, 1.246, 0.997 and 0.260 for %.titratable acidity for A to D respectively. The mean values for temperature and R_f were 30.5°c and 0.6 respectively. Malo-lactic fermentation after 48 h was evident. Taste testing showed very little differences in the wines with recipes A to C while statistical analyses at 95% confidence level showed no significant differences. The wine from the control had similar taste and characteristics with natural palm wine. Pineapple wine could thus, be produced for immediate consumption or preservation by refrigeration using recipes A to C. More research is still required to determine the shelf stability of the Pineapple wine.

Key words: Pineapple fermentation, sugar, wine, flavor, yeast.