Product Description
Cider flavour standards kit used to train professional tasters to recognize and scale the intensity of eight off-flavours.
Use them to deliver up to 20 hours of taster training for ten people. Comes complete with presentation case and one set of cider flavour cards.
AROXA™ certified cider flavour standards are: food grade | free from sensory impurities | extensively tested | safe to smell and taste. Unsure whether this kit is right for you? Don’t forget about our 100% satisfaction guarantee.
The importance and origins of each flavour are:
Flavour: ACETIC Chemical name: ACETIC ACID
“Acetic, like vinegar”
IMPORTANCE: Acetic acid is present in all ciders and is a major component of ‘volatile acidity’. Concentrations of acetic acid can be elevated in some ciders through use of damaged or rotten fruit and low sulphite additions. At high concentrations acetic acid is an off-flavour which can be indicative of poor factory hygiene.
ORIGINS: Acetic acid is a natural component of apple juice and is produced by yeast during fermentation. Abnormal fermentation, contamination with bacteria or wild yeasts, and excessive exposure to oxygen can all lead to excessive production of acetic acid in cider.
Flavour: BUTYRIC Chemical name: BUTYRIC ACID
“Butyric, like baby vomit or spent grains, rancid”
IMPORTANCE: Acetaldehyde is present in all ciders. Low levels of acetaldehyde contribute to apple character, cleanness and complexity of cider. Acetaldehyde is an off-flavour at high concentrations when the note resembles emulsion paint.
ORIGINS: Acetaldehyde is produced by yeast during fermentation. High levels of acetaldehyde are indicative of fermentation problems, poor control of dissolved oxygen during maturation or packaging or spoilage by Zymomonas bacteria.
Flavour: HONEY Chemical name: ETHYL PHENYLACETATE
“Honey, like sweet mead or sherry”
IMPORTANCE: At low concentrations ethyl phenylacetate imparts a pleasant sweet, ‘honey-like’ note to cider. At higher concentrations the flavour of ethyl phenylacetate is reminiscent of mead or sherry.
ORIGINS: Ethyl phenylacetate is formed during ageing of cider. It tends to develop after the appearance of papery, tobacco and leathery notes, and after the loss of banana and bitter notes.
Flavour: SMOKY Chemical name: GUAIACOL
“Smoky, like smoked fish or cheese”
IMPORTANCE: Low levels of guaiacol in cider contribute to wood-aged complexity. Higher levels of guaiacol impart an undesirable smoky / disinfectant-like note to affected cider and the juice from which it is made. The flavour of guaiacol tends toward a more medicinal note when bromophenols, formed by the same contaminant bacteria, are also present.
ORIGINS: Low levels of guaiacol can be derived from oak ageing. Higher levels can be caused by growth of Alicyclobacillus prior to fermentation. This spore-forming organism converts vanillin in the juice into guaiacol.
Flavour: ISOVALERIC Chemical name: ISOVALERIC ACID
“Isovaleric, like cheese or sweaty socks”
IMPORTANCE: Isovaleric acid imparts an odour of stale cheese or sweaty socks to ciders. In traditional ciders, growth of Brettanomyces yeasts can add complexity to the product, differentiating it from other ciders.
ORIGINS: Isovaleric acid is formed by yeast from apple-derived fatty acids during fermentation. It can also be formed by contaminant Brettanomyces yeasts during maturation.
Flavour: RANCID OIL Chemical name: TRANS,TRANS-2,4-HEPTADIENAL
“Rancid oil, like potato chips or vegetable oil”
IMPORTANCE: 2,4-Heptadienal imparts a rancid oil note to cider, reminiscent of cod liver oil. At higher concentrations the odour can be perceived as fishy.
ORIGINS: 2,4-Heptadienal is formed in apples and in juice during storage as a result of enzymic or non-enzymic lipid oxidation. Use of materials which have oxidized in this way prior to fermentation leads to development of this rancid oil flavour note in cider after packaging.
Flavour: KEROSINE Chemical name: 1,3-PENTADIENE
“Kerosine, like petroleum or geranium”
IMPORTANCE: Pentadiene imparts a potent ‘chemical’ taint to affected products. It is typically described as kerosene-like, with additional descriptors of plastic, paint, and geranium depending on the nature of the affected product.
ORIGINS: 1,3-Pentadiene is produced by contaminant microorganisms from sorbic acid. Many moulds and some yeasts are able to convert sorbic acid to 1,3-pentadiene.
Flavour: SKATOLE Chemical name: SKATOLE
“Skatole, like animal faeces”
IMPORTANCE: Skatole imparts an unpleasant, somewhat nauseating, faecal note to affected products. Incidents involving this flavour are thankfully uncommon. The compound adds complexity to cider at very low concentrations.
ORIGINS: Skatole arises in cider through use of improperly cleaned or stored apples, or poor hygiene in the fermentation process. The source of the flavour note is bacterial metabolism of tryptophan.
