The evaluation of black carrot, green cabbage, grape, and apple juices as substrates for the production of functional water kefir‐like beverages

• Published in: Food science & nutrition 2024-09, Vol.12 (9), p.6595-6611
• Main Authors: Agirman, Bilal, Yildiz, Ilker, Polat, Suleyman, Erten, Huseyin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alcohol; Anthocyanins; Antioxidants; Apples; aroma; Beverages; black carrot; Brassica oleracea; Carrots; Context; Cyaniding; Fermentation; Fermented milk products; Food; Food quality; Fruit juices; Fruits; functional beverage; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; Grapes; green cabbage; Juices; Kefir; Microorganisms; Milk; Milk free; Negative feedback; Original; Phenolic compounds; Phenols; Probiotics; Sensory evaluation; Sucrose; Syrups & sweeteners; Veganism; Vegetable juices; Vegetables; Vegetarianism; water kefir
• ISSN: 2048-7177; 2048-7177
• DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.4293

Water kefir (WK) is a nondairy probiotic beverage produced using water kefir grains that are highly adaptable to diverse food substrates. Fruit and vegetables have been used more in beverage production in recent years due to their plentiful nutritional qualities. In this context, the aim of this study is to develop fruit–vegetable juice‐based beverages fermented with WK grains in order to produce novel, non‐dairy, probiotic water kefir‐like beverages (W‐KLBs) with improved sensory and nutritional properties. In this context, black carrot (BC), apple (A), grape (G), and green cabbage (GC) juices are fermented with commercial WK grains. Results showed that BC‐KLB possessed the highest antioxidant activity (75.50%), total phenolic (1248.60 mg GA/L), and total monomeric anthocyanin (391.31 mg/L as cyaniding‐3‐glucoside equivalent) content. Also, the sensory evaluation demonstrated that BC‐KLB was the most favorable sample, while GC‐KLB received negative feedback. These findings strongly support the suitability of BC juice to develop W‐KLB with high added value and functional properties. The experiments were conducted using black carrot, green cabbage, apple, and grape juices as substrates for fermentation, employing water kefir grains as the fermenting agent. Water kefir‐like beverage (W‐KLB) derived from black carrot juice exhibited the highest functional characteristics with favored sensorial attributes. Due to the abundance of sulfur compounds in its aroma, green cabbage is not suitable for the production of W‐KLB. Beverages produced with grape and apple juice showed a similar aroma and sensory profile.