Traditional dried starter culture (Medombae) for rice liquor production in Cambodia

Aledomdoe is a Cambodian traditional dried starter culture used to produce alcoholic beverages and other fermented products. Its main ingredients are rice flour, different types of plants. herbs and spices and microorganisms from previous batches of inedoinbae. This study aimed to describe the traditional method of medombae processing; enumerate microorganisms present in medomhae; and evaluate the physicochemical and sensory properties of rice liquor using traditional medombae. Interview and documentation of local medombae and rice liquor production were conducted. Enumeration of microorganisms in traditional medombae was done using standard pour plating technique. Rice liquor from the three types of starter cultures were subjected to physicochemical and sensory analyses. Aledomhae samples contained 10(5) to10(7) CFU g(-1) molds; 10(7) to 10(8) CFU g(-1) yeasts; and < 5 CFU g(-1) acid-producing bacteria with starter culture from Vietnam obtained the highest counts. Rice liquor using traditional medombae had lower alcohol content, purified alcohol, yield and acceptability compared to rice liquor using Vietnamese starter cultures. This indicated that the method of Cambodian starter culture production still needs the right microorganisms and needs knowledge on the interactions and process by-products for optimum activity to produce desired product components. (C) All Rights Reserved