Wine is one of the most ancient beverages and it consist of a complex mixture of alcohol, sugars, aldehydes, tannins, pectins, vitamins, minerals and organic acids produced by the fermentation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on fruit juices. Papaya (Carica papaya) is a common plant native to South America and widely cultivated in Asian and African countries. In the present study, Carica papayafruit pulp was used for the production of wine under controlled fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The physicochemical parameters such as pH, yeast cell count, specific gravity, carotenoid content, and alcohol content were observed during the study. The analysis was done once in every 5 days. FTIR analyses of wine and unfermented fruit juice samples also were also carried out. During fermentation, the pH changed from 5.1 to 4.4. The initial value of yeast cell count during the fermentation process was 8.5×106 cells/ml, later it attained the maximum value of 9.53×106 cells per ml on the 5th day. It then gradually decreased to a final value of 2.92×106 cells/ml on the 20th day. The specific gravity was initially 1.1573 and it decreased to 1.1483. Carotenoid content was 0.034 mg/ml on the first day and it increased to 0.279 mg/ml. Alcohol content of papaya was found to be increasing during the course of fermentation. It was estimated as 3.01% on the 5th day and it increased to 10.11% on the 20th day. The overall point for sensory analysis was 4.8.
Key words: fermentation, papaya, reducing sugar, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, wine.
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