Fatty acid composition of cider obtained either by traditional or controlled fermentation

A pilot-scale model for controlled fermentation in cider-making is described. This technology is compared with the conventional induction of alcoholic fermentation and spontaneous malolactic conversion on the basis of the cider's fatty acid profile. Controlled cider fermentations were carried out by means of sequential inoculation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Leuconostoc oenos. It was observed that there are significant differences in fatty acid composition depending on the fermentation process employed. The contents in fatty acids of ciders elaborated by a conventional process were higher than those of ciders obtained by controlled fermentation. The use of principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) and partial least squares (PLS) in conjunction with the fatty acid composition allowed the authors to typify fermented apple products on the basis of the fermented technology. The most relevant variables for classification purposes were lauric and palmitic acids.