Quality characteristics of fermented vinegars using pear

Fermented vinegars using pear was compared according to the appled side materials. Quality characteristics of three kinds of the fermented vinegars (pear vinegar, PV; pear black rice vinegar, PBV; pear mint vinegar, PMV) were investigated, which includes pH, total acidity, colors, the contents of sugar, amino acids, total polyphenol, and total flavonoid, ,α‘α-diphenyl-β-pycrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging ability, and sensory evaluation. Brown rice vinegar (BRV) was used as a control. The pH and total acidity of the fermented pear vinegars were significantly different showing the range of 3.17~3.43 and 4.01~5.05%, respectively (p<0.05). The sugar contents of PV and PMV were significantly higher than other vinegars (p<0.05). L, a, and b values were the highest in PV, PBV, and PMV, respectively. Among the four vinegars, the essential amino acids were the highest in PV with the order of lysine, isoleucine, valine, and threonine. Besides, the fermented pear vinegars have many non-essential amino acids such as glutamic acid and aspartic acid. The aspartic acid content was the highest in PV while glutamic acid content was the highest in BRV. The total polyphenol content was the highest in PV while total flavonoid content was the highest in PBV. The DPPH radical scavenging ability (%) was the highest in PV. In sensory evaluation, PBV showed the highest color, taste and overall preference scores. These results show that pear would be desirable to prepare high-quality vinegars and functional foods.