Hüseyin Erten

A Traditional Turkish Lactic Acid Fermented Beverage: Shalgam (Salgam)

Shalgam is a traditional lactic acid fermented beverage in which black carrot, bulgur flour, sourdough, salt, turnip, and water are used for production. It is a red coloured, cloudy and sour soft drink mainly consumed in southern Turkey, however, its consumption is currently increasing in other parts, as well. Shalgam is produced on an industrial scale. Although there is no standard production technique in industry, it could be stated that there are two methods for shalgam production: the traditional method and the direct method. The traditional method comprises sourdough fermentation and carrot fermentation. In the direct method, however, the sourdough fermentation is omitted and only the carrot fermentation is applied. During fermentation, mainly lactic acid bacteria give shalgam its typical taste and flavour by producing lactic acid, ethanol, and some other organic compounds. This article reviews some aspects of shalgam production.

Influence of Lachancea thermotolerans on Cv. Emir Wine Fermentation

The present paper describes the behaviour of Lachancea thermotolerans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in pure, co‐cultured and sequential fermentations in cv. Emir grape must. Faster fermentation rates were observed in wine made with a pure culture of S. cerevisiae and wine produced with simultaneously inoculated cultures of L. thermotolerans and S. cerevisiae. Both L. thermotolerans and S. cerevisiae gave high population numbers. The use of L. thermotolerans in mixed and sequential cultures led to an increase in final total acidity content in the wines, varying in the range 5.40–6.28 g/l (as tartaric acid), compared to pure culture S. cerevisiae, which gave the lowest level of total acidity (5 g/l). The increase was in the order of 1.18–2.06 g/l total acidity. Increase in final acidity by the use of L. thermotolerans might be useful to improve wines with low acidity due to global climate change. Volatile acidity levels (as acetic acid) were in the range 0.53–0.73 g/l, while the concentration of ethyl alcohol varied in the range 10.76–11.62% v/v. Sequential fermentations of wines and pure culture fermentation of L. thermotolerans resulted in reduction in the concentrations of acetaldehyde and higher alcohols, with exception of N‐propanol and esters. According to the sensory analysis, wine obtained with sequential inoculation of L. thermotolerans followed by inoculation of S. cerevisiae after 24 h, and simultaneous inoculation of these yeasts, was the most preferred. Copyright

Microbial, chemical and sensory properties of shalgams made using different production methods.

BACKGROUND Shalgam is a traditional Turkish lactic acid fermented beverage. This study examined the microbial, chemical and sensory characteristics of shalgams produced by various methods. RESULTS Different production methods using traditional method (dough fermentation and carrot fermentation), direct method (without dough fermentation) and with the addition of starter cultures were applied to produce shalgams. The final amounts of total acidity as lactic acid (6.33-9.22 g L(-1)), pH (3.42-3.55), the counts of lactic acid bacteria (7.43-7.74 log CFU mL(-1)), total mesophilic aerobic bacteria (7.03-7.46 log CFU mL(-1)), yeasts (6.96-7.50 log CFU mL(-1)) and non-Saccharomyces yeasts (4.21-5.19 log CFU mL(-1) ) were found. Lactobacillus plantarum and then Lb. buchneri were the most frequently isolated bacteria in shalgam samples. Sensory evaluation of shalgams showed that sample produced using traditional method with starter additions obtained highest scores. CONCLUSION This study showed that addition of starter lactic acid bacteria cultures improved the quality of shalgams. Analysis of the results indicated that the direct method for the production of shalgam is not preferable. The data obtained can be useful for industrial shalgam producers.

Effects of fermentation temperature and aeration on production of natural isoamyl acetate by Williopsis saturnus var. saturnus.

Isoamyl acetate is a natural flavour ester, widely used as a source of banana flavour by the food industry. Williopsis saturnus var. saturnus is a yeast which can produce isoamyl acetate by esterification of amyl alcohols with acetyl coenzyme A via fermentation. The evaluation of this kind of production as an alternative way to obtain natural banana flavour could be possible, if the levels produced were high enough to make a commercial product. In this study, the effects of temperature (15°C and 25°C) and aeration (aerobic, semiaerobic, and anaerobic) on the production of isoamyl acetate by Williopsis saturnus var. saturnus from sugar beet molasses were examined. According to the results obtained, isoamyl acetate production rate and specific productivity were higher at 25°C than at 15°C and at semiaerobic condition than aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Williopsis saturnus var. saturnus showed a production rate of 0.703 mg L−1 h−1 and a specific productivity of 0.0297 mg L−1 cell−1 h−1 isoamyl acetate with semiaerobic condition at 25°C. The maximum amount of isoamyl acetate reached with these conditions was 118 mg/L.

Yeast biota of naturally fermented black olives in different brines made from cv. Gemlik grown in various districts of the Cukurova region of Turkey

In this study, the yeast microbiota of naturally fermented black olives made from cv. Gemlik, grown in three different districts of the Çukurova region of Turkey, were investigated. Fermentations were conducted for 180 days in three different brines, including NaCl 10% w/v, NaCl 8% w/v and NaCl 8% w/v added with glucose 0.5%. In total, 223 yeasts were isolated and then identified by PCR–RFLP analysis of the 5.8S ITS rRNA region and sequence information for the D1/D2 domains of the 26S rRNA gene. A broad range of yeast biodiversity was identified, including eight genera and nine species. Candida boidinii (41%), Wickerhamomyces anomalus (32%) and Saccharomyces sp. (18%) were predominant yeasts throughout the fermentations. To a lesser extent, the other species, Candida aaseri, Meyerozyma sp., Zygoascus hellenicus, Pichia kudriavzevii, Schwanniomyces etchellsii and Candida atlantica were also members of the olive‐fermenting microbiota. In Tarsus and Bahçe districts C. boidinii and in Serinyol district Saccharomyces sp. were the most frequently identified species. W. anomalus was the most frequently isolated species (by 48% of total yeasts) in NaCl 10% brines. C. boidinii was the most dominant species in the brines, including NaCl 8% and NaCl 8% + glucose 0.5%, with frequencies of 42% and 61%, respectively. At the end of the 180 days of fermentation, total acidity values of the brines were in the range 1.04–8.1 g/l lactic acid. Copyright

Identification of predominant lactic acid bacteria and yeasts of Turkish sourdoughs and selection of starter cultures for liquid sourdough production using different flours and dough yields

Abstract Eight samples of mature sourdough were collected from five provinces of Turkey. Lactic acid bacteria and yeasts were isolated and identified and used in different combinations to produce liquid sourdoughs. Microbiological and physicochemical characteristics of the experimental sourdoughs made with different flour types and dough yields were studied. The main lactic acid bacteria species identified were Lactobacillus (L.) sanfranciscensis, Pediococcus pentosaceus, L. plantarum, L. namurencis, L. rossiae, Leuconostoc mesenteroides and L. zymae. L. spicheri, L. paralimentarius, L. mindensis, L. farciminis, L. acetotolerans, L. casei, Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus durans were also found in sourdoughs at subdominant levels. Among yeasts, mainly Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but also Pichia guiliermondii and Torulaspora delbrueckii were the predominant species of yeasts identified in sourdoughs. Lactic acid bacteria and yeasts of liquid sourdoughs after fermentation were in the range of 9.61–9.89 log cfu/g and 6.55–7.36 log cfu/g, respectively. Various chemical parameters such as pH, total titratable acidity, lactic and acetic acids, ethanol and sugars were determined for liquid sourdoughs. Acidification and metabolite contents of these products were different, depending on the starter culture, flour type and dough yield. Total titratable acidity was more pronounced in the sourdoughs produced with whole wheat flour (14.08 mL NaOH) and rye flour (13.56 mL NaOH), dough yield 250 (13.93 mL NaOH) and control sample (13.12 mL NaOH) which were produced without inoculum.

Aroma composition of shalgam: a traditional Turkish lactic acid fermented beverage

Shalgam, a traditional red, cloudy and sour soft beverage, is produced by lactic acid fermentation of black carrot, sourdough, salt, bulgur flour, turnip and adequate water. The present study was designed to characterize the volatile compounds of shalgam obtained from different methods. The aroma compounds of shalgams produced by traditional and direct methods, and addition of Lactic acid bateria (LAB) cultures were examined. Volatile components of shalgam samples were extracted by liquid–liquid extraction technique with pentane/dichloromethane and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Sixty aroma compounds were identified in shalgam samples including 20 terpenes, 9 esters, 9 alcohols, 5 volatile acids, 6 volatile phenols, 5 lactones, 3 naphthalenes, 2 carbonyl compounds and 1 C13-norisoprenoids. It was found that the aroma profiles of shalgams were quite similar. However, the total volatile content of the shalgam samples increased with addition of Lb. plantarum.

Importance of Yeasts and Lactic Acid Bacteria in Food Processing

Fermented foods and beverages have been an important part of our lives in all over the world. Their production is one of the oldest manufacturing and preservation methods, dating back to ancient times. Yeasts, mainly Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and lactic acid bacteria have long been used for the production of many fermented products.

The Influence of Various Chloride Salts to Reduce Sodium Content on the Quality Parameters of Şalgam (Shalgam): A Traditional Turkish Beverage Based on Black Carrot

Sodium chloride is essential in salgam processing affecting the flavour and microbiological stability of the final product. However, reduction of sodium salt in salgam beverage is essential due to consumers’ demand for low-sodium foods as well as recommendation of health authorities. NaCl was replaced both partially and totally by KCl and CaCl2 in the present study. Experimental design was established to investigate the effects of five different combinations (1.7% NaCl (control treatment); 0.85% NaCl–0.85% KCl; 0.85% NaCl–0.85% CaCl2; 0.85% KCl–0.85% CaCl2, and 0.56% NaCl–0.56% KCl–0.56% CaCl2) of chloride salts on microbiological, chemical, and sensory qualities of salgam. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were present in populations ranging from 8.0 to 8.61 log cfu/mL while total yeasts were 6.89 to 7.12 log cfu/mL at the end of the process. The maximum number of LAB was detected in the fermentation employed NaCl + KCl salts combination. Regarding the microbiological profile, LAB growth was stimulated significantly in presence of KCl while yeast patterns were not linked to different salt treatments. The final values of total acidity (TA) and pH for salgam were found between 7.40 and 8.71 g/L and 3.26–3.47, respectively. Concerning physicochemical attributes, pH decreased when CaCl2 increased while TA is higher in the presence of CaCl2. Şalgam juice fermented with 0.85% NaCl–0.85% KCl mineral salt combination received the best sensory results among the different salt substitutions. Results demonstrate that NaCl can be replaced in salgam with KCl by 50%, without affecting the traditional taste of salgam in order to meet consumers’ demand for low-sodium dietary intake.