Una Nuova Prospettiva di Studio della Qualità degli aceti: Analisi della Distribuzione delle Dimensioni Molecolari

SUMMARY The Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) technique, normally used to characterize polymeric materials, was used to effectively decouple some fermented vinegars in their constituents and investigate some composition-related distribution properties of the vinegars. Results support the idea that vinegar quality is strictly related to the presence of polymeric compounds, naturally arising from the raw materials or newly formed during making processes and aging. The vinegars studied can be conveniently defined as “an acidic mixture of copolymers, from uncolored to brown, with a relative molecular weight randomly spreading between 0.2 and 2,000 kDa and beyond, highly polydispersed with respect to their composition and structure and whose broadness and modality of distribution is a function of the raw starting materials and aging time”. As already known for other polydispersed materials, it is reasonable to expect that vinegar quality depends on chemical, physical and sensory properties for which a discrete distribution rather than a single value can be observed. The proposed approach is expected to have a definable impact on the advancement of vinegar science and technology and innovative vinegar chemistry.