Production of Korean domestic wheat (keumkangmil) vinegar with Acetobacter pasteurianus A8

Abstract

We tested the possibility of utilizing Korea domestic wheat (winter wheat variety keumkangmil) as a source of vinegar production. After saccharification of the whole-wheat flour with wheat malt, the saccharized liquid undergoes alcoholic fermentation, followed by acetic fermentation. Acetic acid bacterium A8, which showed the highest acetic acid production (4.56%) with domestic wheat as substrate, was selected from conventional vinegars. The strain A8 was identified as Acetobacter pasteurianus A8 through phylogenetic study using 16S rDNA sequencing analysis. The optimal condition for the malt enzyme was found to be 15°C for germination periods of 6 days; its amylase activity was 608.4 U. Acetic acid production from domestic wheat substrate supplemented with 5% ethyl alcohol reached 5.8% after 24 days of static fermentation at 30°C with a seeding rate of 5%.