Abstract

EVALUATION OF WINE PRODUCED FROM BANANA JUICE

Nwobodo H. A.*

Abstract

Banana (Musa sapientum) has a long history in Nigeria as a staple foodand seasonal crop with short shelf-life under the prevailing temperatureand humidity conditions in tropical countries. Hence, there is rapiddeterioration of ripe banana. Irrespective of its high consumption inNigeria, decaying banana fruits are common in banana season.Fermenting banana juice is considered to be an attractive means ofutilizing surplus and over-ripe bananas. Hence, this research is anattempt to produce wine using banana in order to reduce wastageassociated with rapid deterioration of riped banana fruit. Ripe bananawas bought, washed, peeled, sliced and boiled in hot water. The pulpobtained after boiling was filtered and ingredients including 3.5 kg ofsugar, 30 ml of lemon juice, 5 g of of bakers yeast (Saccharomycescerevisiae) in 10 litres of must. The mixture was thoroughly stirred and fermentation carriedout for 14 days at 30oC. There was increase in the yeast count starting from Day 2 ofincubation, which reversed and started decreasing gradually after Day 4 to 4.9 x 107 cfu/mlon Day 6 and 4.8 x 107cfu/ml on Day 8. The pH of the Banana wine produced at the end offermentation decreased from 3.91 to 2.85, while the titrable acidity of the Banana wineincreased progressively during the course of fermentation from 1.3 to 1.6. The total dissolvedsolids decreased with increasing length of fermentation of the juice from 2.5 to 0.5, while thetotal suspended solids increased from 1.33 to 2.2. The alcohol content of the wine increasedwith increase in fermentation period from 11 on Day 2 to 14 on Day 8. The result obtainedfrom the sensory evaluation by ten panelist showed that the wine was liked. Banana wineproduction should be considered as a way of addressing unemployment, food security andeconomic recession, while further research should be conducted on safe and affordablemethod of preserving the wine locally.

Keywords: Wine, Production, Banana, Juice.