Production of Rice Vinegar Employing Enzyme Preparation

Abstract

Sake, raw material for rice vinegar production, was prepared by the conventional koji process and enzymatic process employing a commercial enzyme preparation of fungal origin which possesses α-amylase, glucamylase, protease, and cellulase activities. The suitability of raw Sake made by the enzymatic process for rice vinegar production was compared with that of the conventional process. Results obtained were as follows: 1)General components in both raw Sake were almost same except that raw Sake made by the enzymatic process contained more total extract and amino acids than the conventional Sake did. 2)The yield of Sake cake from total rice was 22.9% by the conventional process and 18.0% by the enzymatic process. Sake cake obtained from the enzymatic process contained lower amount of organic components than that by the conventional process showing that the former process was superior to the latter in respect to the utilization of the rice constituents. 3)Acidity increase in vinegar mash by the enzymatic process was slightly faster than that by the conventional process when fermented by both static and aeration methods. 4)No marked difference was found in the chemical components between enzymatic processed vinegar and the conventional vinegars, but the result of sensory test showed that the quality of the vinegar by the enzymatic process was superior to that by the conventional process.