Suitability of autochthonous plum cultivars (Prunus insititia L) for brandy production

Abstract

The plum assortment is dominated by autochthonous cultivars, also known as brandy cultivars, due to the only purpose they have in practice. The cultivars in question are of variable yield, with an average to poor quality of fruit. These cultivars are mostly of a local character, adapted to the local environmental conditions and therefore unique and different in every region of growing. Among the autochthonous cultivars, 'Crvena Ranka' and 'Crveni Piskavac' stand out as cultivars with very good yield and fruit quality, and we chose to study them in this work. The research was conducted during the period 2002-2004, in the region of the Knić municipality. The testing for the plum brandy production was set up in 10 variants (with the stone, without the stone, as well as with various additives such as acid yeast, and pectolitic enzyme, used separately or in various combinations). On the average, the ripening time of the 'Crvena Ranka' and 'Crveni Piskavac' cultivars fell between 5th and 11th August. The average fruit mass ranged from 16.28 g (Crvena Ranka) to 7.60 g (Crveni Piskavac), while the dry matter content was 16.90% (Crvena Ranka) and 15.40% (Crveni Piskavac). The sugar contents ranged from 14.75% to 11.15%, and the total acids were 1.38% and 1.27% respectively. Based on the quantitative chemical analyses of the distillates obtained in respective test variants, as well as the results of committee assessments of sensory characteristics of the plum brandies (performed with an aim to assess organoleptic characteristics of final brandy products), the conclusion was that the 'Crveni Piskavac' cultivar was not suitable as a raw material for the production of high-quality brandies neither alone, nor in a combination with 'Crvena Ranka'. With the 'Crvena Ranka' cultivar, three variants were selected (3, 4 and 5) and assessed as top-quality brandies. These will be recommended to the user for a future production of a brandy, branded 'Šumadijski biser' (The Pearl of Šumadija).

U radu su ispitivane pogodnosti autohtonih sorti šljive Crvena ranka i Crveni piskavac za proizvodnju rakije visokog kvaliteta. Određivan je i optimalan tehnološki postupak, po kome bi se proizvodila sortna rakija šljivovica vrhunskog kvaliteta. Sorta Crveni piskavac nije se pokazala kao pogodna sirovina (ni samostalno ni u kombinaciji sa Crvenom rankom) za proizvodnju rakija visokog kvaliteta. Kod sorte Crvena ranka izdvojene su tri varijante (3, 4, 5), koje su ocenjene kao rakije vrhunskog kvaliteta i koje će se preporučiti korisniku da se proizvode pod robnim nazivom "Šumadijski biser".