The effect of enzymatic treatment on blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum) juice flavour and its stability

The effects of different enzymatic treatments on the sensory profile and chemical composition, especially various phenolic compounds, sugars and fruit acids, of blackcurrant juices were investigated. In addition to pectinolytic activities, the enzymes had different cellulolytic, hemicellulolytic and glycolytic activities. The enzymatic treatments improved significantly the yield of juice, but with more fermented and astringent characteristics than juices without enzymatic hydrolysis. Enzymes with higher glycosidase activity increased astringency and the content of phenolic compounds in the juice. When the incubation temperature was elevated the contents of fruit acids increased whereas sugars and the perceived sweetness were the highest in the juices without enzymatic treatments. Despite of the significant changes in chemical composition, the sensory properties did not change significantly during 6 weeks of storage. Optimisation of the enzymatic process is crucial for juice making as maximising the juice yield or the content of phenolic compounds may produce unwanted sensory properties to the juice.