Fermentation process optimization and flavor components analysis of lemon mead

The lemon mead was prepared with lemon and locust honey as raw materials, the optimal fermentation process was determined through single factor and orthogonal experiments, and the physicochemical indexes, organic acids, and amino acid contents were analyzed by conventional detection methods and HPLC. The results showed that the optimal fermentation process conditions were as follows: initial pH 4.0, initial sugar content 23 °Bx, fruit wine yeast SY inoculum 7%, fermentation temperature 22 ℃ and time 7 d. Under these optimal conditions, the sensory score, the alcohol content, the contents of total organic acid and vitamin C of lemon mead were 87.3 points, 13.6%vol, 7.9 g/L and 326.0 mg/L, respectively. A total of 8 organic acids were detected by HPLC, including citric acid, succinic acid, oxalic acid, acetic acid, pyruvate, lactic acid and shikimic acid. The total organic acid content was 34.98 g/L, among them, citric acid and succinic acid were dominant. A total of 16 free amino acids with total contents of (816.02±0.44) mg/L were detected, including 7 essential amino acids with total contents of (290.57±1.43) mg/L.