Bubod [starter culture] rejuvenation: a step towards maintaining rice wine quality

Market for rice wine consumption continuous to expand. The shelf life of rice wine lies in the quality of bubod (starter culture) used for production. The availability of bubod manufacture through hygienic and reliable method, will therefore provide more income to wine producers. As such, there is a vital need for the determination of the fermentation efficiency and storage stability of laboratory-prepared (rejuvenated) bubod to ensure the production of rice wine with superior and consistent quality in every batch. Bubod was rejuvenated fifteen times using commercial mother bubod in the first rejuvenation. Bubod were evaluated for microbial load and efficiency in wine production. The rice wines were assessed for physico-chemical and sensory properties. Despite the large difference in the bacteria (x10sup 7 cfu/g), yeast (x10sup 7 cfu/g) and mold (x10sup 5 cfu/g) count of each of the fifteen rejuvenated bubod, the alcohol content (17.95 to 22.15 percent), pH (3.67 to 3.81), and sensory properties of the resulting wine were comparable to each other. The highest intensity of sweetness, aroma, overall acceptability, total soluble solids and lowest acidity was obtained from the bubod rejuvenated for the ninth time. Meanwhile, the yield obtained ranged from 1,095 to 1,350 ml per kg of glutinous rice. The first rejuvenated bubod was also evaluated for its storage stability from 0 to 6 months at refrigerated temperature and rice wine was produced every month. Wine from 3 month old bubod had the highest alcohol content and overall acceptability. Bacteria and yeast count decreased as the month of bubod storage increased and resulting wine decreased in overall acceptability and sweetness after 3 months. The study showed that good quality wine can still be obtained even up to fifteen rejuvenations and the first rejuvenated bubod can be best stored for 0 to 3 months at refrigerated temperature.