Study on the Aging of Sauce-Flavored Baijiu Based on Light Irradiation

Aging is a crucial process that enhances the quality of Chinese Baijiu production. This paper investigates the aging of sauce-flavored Baijiu through light irradiation. LED light sources with central wavelengths of 365, 395, and 455 nm are employed to age Baijiu samples. The total acid content is determined by titration, while the total ester content is obtained through saponification. Aged Baijiu samples are subjected to sensory evaluation, and their aroma profiles are analyzed using an electronic nose. The total acid and total ester content in the aged Baijiu samples meets the first-grade Baijiu standards established by national regulations. Principal component analysis of the electronic nose data indicates that the flavor profile of the aged samples closely resembles that of Maotai, a renowned sauce-flavored Baijiu. The experimental results demonstrate that irradiation with light at a central wavelength of 395 nm for 2 weeks represents an optimal aging solution, which may be beneficial for the aging of sauce-flavored Baijiu. Received: 9 April 2025 | Revised: 18 July 2025 | Accepted: 10 September 2025 Conflicts of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to this work. Data Availability Statement Data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Author Contribution Statement Xiang Gao: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Investigation, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Visualization. Ri Zeng Tao: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Investigation, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Visualization. Chun Feng Guo: Validation, Resources, Writing – review & editing, Supervision. Qi Fei Zhu: Software, Formal analysis, Investigation, Visualization. Bobo Yang: Resources, Writing – review & editing, Supervision. Jun Zou: Resources, Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition.