Quality of plum brandies produced from plum cultivars with combined properties

Abstract

Besides plum cultivars intended for brandy making, numerous plum cultivars with combined traits are also used for the production of plum brandy in Serbia. The latter are used as dessert fruits, as well as for freezing and processing into prunes, jam, marmalade, compote, etc. In some years, depending on market trends, larger or smaller quantities of high-quality fruits of the these cultivars, which are, otherwise, intended for both fresh consumption and processing by means of different methods of preservation, are being processed into brandy. In seasons in question, plum fruits are harvested exactly at the moment when they reach the stage of maturity that is common for plums intended for processing into brandy. In this paper we investigated physical and chemical properties of fruits of five cultivars with combined traits widely grown in Serbia - 'Čačanska Lepotica', 'Čačanska Najbolja', 'Čačanska Rodna', 'Valjevka' and 'Stanley', grown on two localities. Processing of the tested plum varieties into brandy was done in the same manner. Physical and chemical analysis was performed as well as the assessment of sensory characteristics of the produced plum brandies. Fruit characteristics of individual varieties, as well as the location from which these plum fruits originate are of great importance for the quality of brandy. The composition of produced plum brandies meets the legislation requirements of both Serbia and the EU. The utilization of high-quality fruits and applied technological processes resulted in considerably low content of undesirable components in plum brandies (methanol and prussic acid) which are below the legally permitted maximum. Differences in sensory assessment of brandies produced from the same cultivar, which depend on growing locality, ranged from 0.21 points (in 'Čačanska Najbolja') to 0.70 points (in 'Čačanska Rodna').

U radu su ispitivane fizičko hemijske karakteristike plodova pet sorata šljive kombinovanih svojstava koje su široko zastupljene u voćarstvu Srbije - 'Čačanska lepotica', 'Čačanska najbolja', 'Čačanska rodna', 'Valjevka' i 'Stanley', sa dva lokaliteta. Šljive su obrane u stadijumu pune zrelosti i prerađene u šljivovicu na isti način. Izvršena je fizičko hemijska analiza i senzorna ocena proizvedenih sortnih šljivovica. Razlike u hemijskom sastavu i senzornim karakteristikama dobijenih šljivovica uslovljene su sortnim karakteristikama ploda i lokalitetom sa kojeg potiču. Sve šljivovice su zadovoljavale zahteve zakonske regulative Srbije i EU.