Abstract

Wine was produced from pawpaw (Carica papaya) at a ratio of 1:4 for pawpaw must: water in fermentation vessels A to D. Fermentation vessel A pawpaw must contained natural yeast and water; B contained natural yeast from pawpaw and sugar solution; C contained natural yeast, activated baker’s yeast and sugar solution; and D (control) contained sugar solution and Baker’s yeast. Pawpaw wines produced had average values of 3.84, 29.6, 0.628, 0.9950, 0.464, 1.348, 6.66 and 0.54; 3.76, 29.6, 0.631, 1.0036, 0.623, 1.358, 6.89 and 0.37; 3.86, 29.8, 0.718, 0.9994, 0.419, 1.354, 6.32 and 0.78; and 3.33, 29.6, 0.659, 0.9974, 0.216, 1.351, 6.72 and 0.8 for pH, temperature (°C), optical density (at 560 nm), specific gravity, percentage titratable acidity, percentage alcohol (v/v), total aerobic count (log₁₀cfu/ml) and retardation factor (R_f) (cm). Fermentation was carried out for 144 h, and it was observed that malo-lactic fermentation after 48 h was evident. Testing of the wine’s taste showed very little differences in the wines from Recipes A – C, while statistical analyses at 95% confidence level showed no significant differences.  The wine from the control had similar taste and characteristics with natural palm wine. Pawpaw wine could thus be produced for immediate consumption, or preserved by refrigeration using Recipes A - C. More research is, however, required to determine the shelf stability of the pawpaw wine.

Key words: Pawpaw, flora, fermentation, sugar, wine, flavor, yeast.