Research on valorising the production from local plum populations for obtaining natural alcoholic beverages

"Pălinca" or "ţuica" is a beverage of at least 50% alcohol, obtained through fruit fermentation and double distillation, without additional sugar, synthetic aromas, colorants, alcohol or other ingredients. The "pălinca" aroma comes from the fruits from which is made and the percentage of alcohol is the result of fruit fermentation. "Pălinca" is a traditional beverage in North West of Transylvania. In this area it is known also under the name of "ţuică" ("ţuică de Oaş" which means "ţuică" from Oaş, "ţuică de Zalău", etc.), "turţ" or "horincă". The "ţuica" name is found only in Romania, so this is an autochthonous product. "Pălinca", "ţuica" and fruit brandy preparation has a long tradition in Romania; it was and still is a major activity of the fruit tree growers in many areas of the country. The first mention about "pălinca" preparation into the territory inhabited by Romanians comes from 1570 and refers to the Turţ locality form Satu Mare county (NW of Romania). This area is well known for the distilled beverages obtained from best quality fruits from local populations of plums. These populations resulted from selection carried out for hundreds of years by its inhabitances. Although, these populations are used for many years in culture and the quality of the "ţuica" is well known, studies on these populations are very few. The plum populations from the area have good behavior to diseases and pests, they produce fruits every year, the costs for establishing and maintaining the plum orchards are not so high. Also, the tree branches are elastic that makes possible to support heavy fruit loads. The crowns of the trees have umbrella shape in such conditions and the branches do not break. During last period some studies on the plum populations used for this valuable alcoholic beverage were carried out. This paper is presenting aspects regarding the chemical composition of the fruits used as raw matter for "pălincă"; the physical, chemical and microbiological processes which occur during fermentation; the physical, chemical and microbiological processes which occur during distillation; chemical composition and sensory traits of raw distillate from fruits; the physical and chemical processes which occur during aging; chemical composition of aged distillates.