Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale: Indicatori di invecchiamento e rischio di solidificazione

Autore corrispondente SUMMARY Traditional Balsamic Vinegars (TBV) provided by different vinegar farms were analyzed with complementary and independent techniques to evaluate their structure, rheological behavior, glucose and fructose concentration as well as the molecular size distribution of their natural constituents. From a physical standpoint, results suggested that TBV is a colloidal dispersion with strong heterogeneity both in molecular size and microstructure. Changes occurring throughout ageing processes inside the barrel set lead to slow rearrangement either into the composition and in microstructure so that such colloidal dispersion but wrong making procedures might induce it to undergo phase separations, i.e. turbidity development and solid precipitation as well as phase transitions, i.e. crystallization of glucose and gelation of amorphous solids. Risk assessment of ABT solidification can be made rapidly measuring four chemico-physical properties, i.e. refractive index (expressed as Brix degree), D-glucose and D-fructose concentration (w/w), and dynamic viscosity as measured at 500 s-1. Right combination of such measurable properties is also a good and objective marker of the effective chemico-physical age for TBV that undergone long ageing processes inside the barrel set. Finally, this work allowed us to individuate and propose a guideline for reducing the risk of solidification of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar