Averrhoa carambola as an Alternative Vinegar

Montevista National High School-Main Campus

Physical Science-Team Category

Researcher
Celebran, Dhel Marie A.
Digaynon, Shammah Joy
Gella, Daniella Hyacinth

Inopia, Christine Joy D.

Research Adviser
Rosilyn Cajes

October 2019

CHAPTER 1
Introduction

Vinegar production is a fermentation process. Fermentation refers to a natural

microbiological process in which bacteria, which are not visible to the eye, eat, and thereby

convert, a sugar or alcohol solution to vinegar. A fermentation tank, the heart of a vinegar

plant, creates an environment in which this natural process is exploited as much bacteria as

possible get access to as much alcohol as possible, while still having air available for

sustenance (Rabbi Gavriel Price,2005).

A vinegar plant appears to be a mass of gigantic, non-descript tanks, each one

indistinguishable from one another. That’s the first problem that mashgichim face when

visiting vinegar companies. Production is hidden within the tanks, and until mashgichim

develop an understanding of how the vinegar is made, it is not at all easy to follow the flow

of production. But there’s another complication with vinegar that keeps a hashgacha’s policy-

makers busy: the halachos of vinegar are unlike the halachos of other prohibited foods. Non-

kosher vinegar is typically wine vinegar, which is governed in part by hilchos stam yenam

and in part by the laws of other prohibited foods (Rabbi Gavriel Price,2005).

Furthermore, vinegar is considered a davar charif, a sharp food, which has far-

reaching stringencies. Certifying vinegar production, particularly in places that also produce

non-kosher vinegar, presents significant challenges. (Rabbi Gavriel Price, 2005)

The fermentation of an alcohol/sugar solution yields acetic acid; vinegar is actually

the common name for a dilute water solution of acetic acid. Vinegars, of course, vary in taste

and appearance. The difference between malt vinegar and wine vinegar is the example used

by the heilige Rava and Abaye (Avodah Zorah, 66a) in their well-known dispute over

whether the taste of a food or its name determines the similarity or difference of foods. But

all vinegars are dilute solutions of acetic acid (Rabbi Gavriel Price, 2005).
 Two different fermentation tanks are commonly used today. A generator, a wood tank

that looks unexceptional, if somewhat imposing, from the outside, houses a quite unusual

kind of technology: thousands of wood shavings fill the top three quarters of the tank. The

wood shavings provide an extensive amount of surface area for the microorganisms to exist.

When alcohol is charged through the top of the generator and drips through the shavings, the

microorganisms convert the alcohol to vinegar. Although generators are still commonly

found at vinegar facilities, they are being supplanted by acetators, which is actually a brand

name for a technology that makes use of something called submerged fermentation, an

entirely different technology that provides space for the microorganisms through air

chambers in the tank (Rabbi Gavriel Price, 2005).

Although production of vinegar is a cold process, bottling of vinegar can involve

genuine heat. Vinegar, because it is highly acidic, is immune to the decay which

microorganisms cause in other foods. Its acidity is what makes vinegar a pickling agent. But

vinegar is nevertheless pasteurized that is, heated before it is bottled. Bottled vinegar, once

opened, can suffer clouding problems or unattractive deposits a result of the “mother” of

vinegar, a bacterial mass, collecting at the bottom of the bottle. Pasteurization seeks to

guarantee long-lasting clarity in the final product (Rabbi Gavriel Price, 2005).

Averrhoa carambola, better known as star fruit or carambolo, is of Asian origin, but is

now grown in different regions of the world, in particular in Central and South America and

also in the Southern United States and Australia.(Dasgupta P, Chakraborty P, Bala NN.

Averrhoa carambola: An updated review. Int J Pharma Res 2013;2:54-63). This fruit has been

used as a natural remedy and as a beverage, and it has become increasingly popular in Europe

and the US where it is marketed as an exotic fruit.( Marín-Restrepo L, Rosselli D.

Intoxication with Averrhoa carambola in a patient on chronic dialysis. Nefrologia

2008;28:117-8).
Specific Objectives

 To introduce alternative vinegar out from extract of star fruit.

Statement of the problem

The study focused on what are the important or ingredient in making vinegar. Specifically, it

aims to answer the following question:

 Is star fruit an effective ingredient in making vinegar?

 Does star fruit have components that can be use as ingredients in making vinegar?

Hypothesis

The hypothesis of this study will be “If liquid from star fruit will be extracted, then an

amount of substance (liquid) will be produced as ingredient in making substance”

Significance of the study

Society. The advantage of this study in the society is we can save our money for future

use. We can use our time by picking some goods starfruit in our garden instead of using our

time and fare going in the market. And by the use of homemade vinegar, we can insure that
our product is safe and clean. We can obtain the right or exact taste that is needed. It can

preserve other foods and it can also use as an ingredients.

Cook. Benefits of homemade vinegar in the cooks is almost the same with the benefits

of homemade vinegar in the society. Cooks can make their own vinegar to avoid stress by

buying vinegar when they are in a hurry.

Students. This study will help students to save their money in buying vinegar in the

market. Same benefit in the society. This study will also help students in developing their

skills when it comes on searching some background information for their study.

Scope and limitation

In our study, we will use star fruit as a main ingredient in making vinegar. The

researchers will use star fruit as vinegar because it contains acid which is also part of vinegar.

Also, the researchers will pick up the star fruit at their co-researcher’s place in Purok 4 New

Visayas, Montevista Compostela Valley. The researcher will look for good star fruit and pick

it up. The researcher will conduct the study at home of our co-researcher Dhel Marie at

Purok 6-A Poblacion, Montevista Compostela Valley. The good raw material for star fruit

juice is the ripen fruit which has an entirely yell in color. The over ripped star fruit (more

orange then yellow in color) cannot be used as the raw material.

This study will only limit on the process of vinegar production. We will only make

vinegar and nothing else we will do. We will be conducting the process in a clean room to

avid dirty. First, wash the star fruit properly. Next, after washing slice it into pieces and press

it out. Lastly, put it on a container and leave for days.

CHAPTER 2
 Methodology

This study will be composed of three phases : Phase 1 Plant Preparation; Phase 2 Vinegar

Properties Experimentation; Phase 3 Data Collection Analysis. The researcher will be

conducting the study at home of our co-researcher at Purok 6-A Poblacion, Montevista

Compostela Valley. Quantitative and Qualitative analysis was made in the physical properties

changes and observation of the vinegar.

Phase 1- Collection of Materials

The researcher collected the star fruits at our co-research’s place at Purok 4 New Visayas,

Montevista Davao de Oro. The researcher had a hard time by picking those star fruits because

the star fruit tree is tall. After picking all those star fruits, the researchers picked the good

quality of the fruit for them to proceed to the next process.

After preparing all the star fruits needed, the researchers also prepared all the materials

they need in extracting the star fruits. Slicing board, knife, bottle, strainer, and a clean piece

of cloth.

The researcher washed the star fruit properly to secure that those are clean. The two of

them continued to wash it while the other one prepared the things to be use. After slicing and

preparing, the researcher pressed it out until it become extract.

Phase 2- Vinegar Properties Experimentation

Star fruit Experimentation Set-up

The star fruit properties experimentation observation and analysis were conducted in the

home of our co-researcher at Purok 6-A Poblacion, Montevista Davao de Oro. The researcher
chose star fruit to be their main ingredient in making vinegar because star fruit is also acidic

like vinegar.

When all the materials we need are ready, we began the process in making vinegar out of

star fruit. The researchers gather all the materials they need in a table. Star fruit, slicing

board, knife, bottle, strainer, and a clean piece of cloth.

The researchers washed the star fruit properly to secure that those are clean. The two of

them continued to wash it while the other one prepared the things to be use. When the star

fruit are already clean and ready, the researchers began to slice it in the slicing board and

after a minute of slicing, the researchers pressed it out until it become extract.

Phase 3- Data Collection and Analysis

After conducting the experiment and observing the extracted star fruit, the researchers

found out that the extract won’t become very sour if it is only observed in 5 days. This means

that if the extracted Star Fruit (Averrhoa Carambola) remain at 5 days, it won't become very

sour so it doesn't count as vinegar. Vinegar out of Star Fruit (Averrhoa Carambola) takes time

to make it. It takes 2 to 3 weeks to become completely vinegar.