Chemical and Sensory Characterization of Carob Spirits According to Different Distillation Systems

Carob is the legume of the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.), which is cultivated in many parts of the Mediterranean area. It is mainly used as animal feed and in the formulations of human foods. Due to the high concentration of sugars in carob pods, this fruit could be used as a raw material to produce distillates. In this study, the effect of the distillation system (Charantais alembic versus Charantais alembic with column) on the chemical and sensory characteristics, as well as on the ethanol yield of carob spirits, was analyzed. The ethanol recovery using Charantais alembic was 74.9%, and for Charantais alembic with column, it was 85.8%. Regarding the chemical composition, esters, furanic compounds, and alcohols were the most abundant compounds in the distillates. Principal component analysis was used to identify the different distillate fractions, first distillations, and residues. Nevertheless, the corresponding distillate fractions for both distillation systems were plotted near to each other due to the similar concentration of the volatile compounds. The spirits obtained from both distillation systems were not differentiated by organoleptic triangular and two-alternative forced-choice (2-AFC) tests according to the results of the semi-trained and professional panels. Both spirits were sensorial characterized as floral, fruity, and alcoholic.