Chemical analysis of boxwood, a traditional indigenous fermented beverage produced in the department of Alta Verapaz
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54495/Rev.Cientifica.v6i1.445Keywords:
chemical analysis, boxwood, traditional indigenous fermented beverage, department of Alta VerapazAbstract
Among the traditional fermented alcoholic beverages produced in Guatemala is Alta Verapaz boxwood, a beverage widely consumed in this region of the country, approximately 90 percent of which is inhabited by indigenous people of the Kekchí and Pokomchí linguistic groups. Boxwood is prepared by fermenting freshly extracted sugarcane juice and corn; it is a brown, relatively thick, and acidic beverage.
In this study, the pH, total acidity, volatile acidity, alcohol content, soluble solids, reducing sugars, and total sugars were determined and quantified to characterize this beverage from the perspective of its chemical composition.
The analysis of 51 batches of boxwood produced through the same number of fermentation processes produced the following results: pH, 3.29 ± 0.036; total acidity, 0.36% ± 0.036 (expressed as malic acid); volatile acidity, 0.07% ± 10.018 (expressed as acetic acid); alcohol content, 6.57% ± 0.310; soluble solids, 3.27% ± 0.492; reducing sugars, 0.86% ± 0.210; and total sugars, 1.46% ± 0.283.
Based on the results obtained, it was established that boxwood can be chemically characterized based on pH; alcohol content, total acidity, and percentage of soluble solids, properties that showed relatively little variation in their respective values.
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El Guatemalteco, Diario Oficial de la República de Guatemala, publicado el 29 de febrero de 1956.2da. época. Tomo CXLVI, No. 75. p. 819.
Diario de Centroamérica, Organo Oficial de la República de Guatemala, publicado el 11 de julio de 1985. Tomo CCXXI, Número 64, p. 2104.
Steinkraus K, ed. Handbook of Indigenous Fermented Foods. New York: Marcel Dekker Inc, 1983. p. 305.
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Platt B. Some traditional alcoholic beverages and their importance in indigenous African comunities. Proc Nut Soc 1955; 14:115-124. https://doi.org/10.1079/PNS19550026
Horowitz W, ed. Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 12 ed. Washington: AOAC, 1975. p. 197.
Ref. 1,p. 306.
Ibid, pp. 344-349.
Ibid, p. 306.
Eskin N, Henderson H, Towsend R. Biochemistry of foods. New York: Academic Press, 1971. p. 163.
Inglett G, ed. Corn: Culture, precessing, products. Westport; AVI Publishing Co., 1970.
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Copyright (c) 1988 Hugo René Sandoval, Sergio Domingo Ortiz
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