INNOVATIVE WATER PREPARATION TECHNOLOGY FOR PRODUCTION OF KOMBUCHA FERMENTED BEVERAGE

The article presents the results of theoretical and experimental research on improvement of water preparation technology for non-alcoholic production of kombucha fermented drink. Complex action of the studied materials with adsorptioning, ion exchanging and redoxing properties provides the water conditioning, which allows improving the organoleptic indicators of the final product and increases its biological value. The expediency of using in the technology of preparation water for making kombucha drink has been established for clinoptilolite, rock crystal and activated carbon. While treating water from various sources with the proposed materials it's overall softness and the total iron content were decreased, the content of biologically active substances in the final drink increased and organoleptic characteristics improved. The content of polyphenols substances in the final drink increased on the average 1.6 times compared to the untreated artesian water and the water from centralized water supply network. It was found that the high water hardness had a negative effect on the fermentation caused by the Medusomyces gisevii yeast culture and it made the organoleptic qualities of the final drink worse. The correlation between water indicators, wort fermentation dynamics and organoleptic evaluation of final drinks had been defined. The highest organoleptic values had been got by the samples of the drink prepared using water treated with clinoptilolite, activated carbon and rock crystal.