Investigation of the Effect of Pectinase and Amyloglucosidase Enzyme Mixture on Clarification of Apple Juice

Apple juice is the second most consumed fruit juice in the world and is popular among both adults and children with its unique taste. The raw apple juice obtained after juicing is treated with enzymes to remove suspended solids that clog filters, slow production and cause cloudiness in the juice, and hydrolyze the molecules that cause cloudiness. Enzymatic treatment can be applied as a hot method (1 to 2 hours at 40-55℃) or a cold method (6 to 8 hours at 20-25℃). In this study, it was aimed to determine the optimum temperature, optimum enzyme concentration and enzyme application time within the temperature range of the hot method, which is known to be more advantageous by using pectinase and aminoglycosidase enzyme mixture. The objective of enzymatic clarification of fruit juice is to provide a rapid, easy and economic filtration quality to fruit juices, to prevent subsequent turbidity, and to prevent gel formation during concentration by breaking down pectin. In this study, we examined the clarification of the juice obtained from Granny Smith apples grown in Kosovo with a commercially available pectinase and aminoglycosidase enzyme mixture. In our research, two enzymes responsible for the breakdown of pectin and starch, pectinase and amylase, were used to clarify apple juice. The most suitable enzyme mixture ratio and the working temperature of the enzymes were optimized by mixing different ratios of pectinase and amylase enzymes. The viscosity, pH change, Total Acidity, density, turbidity test, brix, starch and pectin analysis of the apple juice clarified under the determined optimum conditions were performed. When the data obtained was examined, it was determined that the best results were obtained in apple juice incubated for 1 hour and 30 minutes at 55℃ with an enzyme concentration of 0.1/0.12 g/L and the percentage of clarity was 78.94%. The results showed that when pectinase and aminoglycosidase enzymes were used in combination for juice clarification, the clarity level in apple juice increased significantly. This can be applied to the clarification of other fruit juices.