SUGAR-CONTAINING FERMENTED BEVERAGES USING ZOOGLEAS BASED ON PLANT RAW MATERIALS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31073/foodresources2026-26-22Keywords:
zooglea, tea fungus, rice mushroom, fermented beverage, hibiscus, Moorish mallow, linden, organoleptic evaluation, functional beveragesAbstract
Subject. Functional sugar-containing fermented beverages based on plant raw materials of various botanical groups – herbal tea, linden tea, hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) and Moorish mallow (Malva mauritiana) – produced using two types of symbiotic microbial cultures (zoogleas): tea fungus (SCOBY, Medusomyces gisevii) and rice mushroom (water kefir grains, tibicos). Purpose. Comparative organoleptic evaluation of seven fermented beverage samples to determine the effect of plant raw material type and zooglea type on the quality and consumer characteristics of the final product. Methods. A tasting panel of nine specialists conducted profile analysis across three groups of organoleptic indicators with weighting coefficients: colour and transparency (×3), taste (×4), and aroma (×3). Each group included an extended list of descriptors – 30 indicators in total. The overall weighted rating was calculated using the formula R = Cp×3 + T×4 + A×3. Statistical processing of results was performed using descriptive statistics methods in Microsoft Excel. Results. It was established that the organoleptic characteristics of sugar-containing fermented beverages depend significantly on both the type of plant raw material and the type of zooglea used. The highest overall rating was obtained by the "hibiscus + rice mushroom" sample – 70.24 points; the lowest by the "herbal tea + tea fungus" sample – 58.33 points. Rice mushroom provides superior organoleptic characteristics compared to tea fungus for most plant raw materials, yielding higher scores for softness, freshness and taste harmony. Plant raw materials with pronounced pigmentation (hibiscus, mallow) produce beverages with better colour scores and higher overall ratings. The highest aroma score was obtained by the "herbal tea + rice mushroom" sample (7.59), indicating a positive effect of lactic acid fermentation on aroma development. Scope of results. The findings may be applied in the development of formulations and production technologies for plant-based functional fermented beverages, as well as to substantiate the choice of zooglea type depending on the plant raw material used.
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