Evaluation of the organoleptic characteristics of food bases (croups) fermented

with edible mushroom mycelia

Bakhlukov D.О., Krupodorova Т.А.
Institute of Food Biotechnology and Genomics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
e-mail: Bahlukov@gmail.com

The rapidly growing number of vegan populations and vegan diets, rising
awareness and a focus on healthy lifestyles are driving consumer attention to
functional foods. The overall demand for fermented foods is projected to grow year
on year. Macromycetes are a potential source of a variety of valuable biologically
active metabolites, which leads to their high therapeutic potential. Today, fungal
metabolites account for more than half of the newly discovered physiologically active
substances. The availability of products fermented with edible mushroom mycelium
with high organoleptic characteristics will create prerequisites for expanding the
range of mushroom-based products. The introduction of edible macromycetes
mycelium into the diet of consumers due to the intake of biologically active
substances will contribute to the manifestation of a complex positive effect on the
human body. The aim of this study is to evaluate the organoleptic characteristics of
food bases (groups) fermented with different edible mushroom species.
The objects of the study were Flammulina velutipes, Hericium erinaceus,
Pleurotus citrinopileatus, P. djamor, P. eryngii, P. pulmonarius from the IBK
Mushroom Culture Collection of the M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany of the NAS
of Ukraine. As a food base for fermentation were chosen croups such as pearl barley,
whole wheat, long-grain steamed rice, split peas, whole corn kernels and their
mixtures. The food bases were purchased from a retailer. The bases were sterilized in
an autoclave at 121 °C for 30 minutes. Under sterile conditions, the bases were
inoculated with fungal cultures previously grown on PDA (Difco). Cultivation was
carried out in a thermostatically controlled room at 27±2 °C for 26 days. The
evaluation of organoleptic parameters was carried out on days 12, 19, and 26 of
fermentation by a tasting panel of 10 people using a touch panel. A dictionary of
descriptors was developed to assess organoleptic characteristics. The intensity of each
descriptor (general appearance, taste, smell, consistency) was noted on a scale from 0
to 10. The radar diagrams of mushrooms with different food bases were analyzed by
descriptive sensory analysis.
According to the results of the experiments, the modes of preparation of food
bases in an industrial cooking boiler KPE-100 (Ukraine) at a temperature of 100±2
°C were selected and the optimal period of their cooking was determined by the
moisture content of the croups: 10-15 minutes for rice and 30-40 minutes for other
tested food bases. According to the indicator of growth and fouling of food bases
with fungi, it was found that all selected fungal cultures can be cultivated on all
studied food croups and their mixtures. The growth rate of mushrooms differed
depending on the food base used. This can be explained by the different content of
nutrients and their availability to the mushroom culture. It is worth noting that the
best mycelial growth in terms of speed and density was observed on the bases that
had unsatisfactory organoleptic characteristics after fermentation. Evaluation of the
organoleptic characteristics of the studied samples revealed that the bases (pearl
barley, corn kernels, split peas) are inappropriate for further study in this work due to
their unsatisfactory organoleptic characteristics: taste (sour, bitter), odor (fishy,
ammonia, earthy, rubbery), as well as the appearance and presence of mushroom
mycelium exudate during fermentation by mushrooms. Whole grain wheat and rice
after fermentation Flammulina velutipes, Pleurotus eryngii, P. ostreatus, P.
pulmonarius received high scores for organoleptic characteristics. These samples had
the following desirable organoleptic characteristics: taste - sweet, mild, mushroom;
smell - vanilla, fruity, herbal, nutty; consistency - from dense, crumbly to soft,
creamy.
Thus, species-specific features of fungal growth and organoleptic
characteristics of fermented food bases were revealed. All the food bases used were
suitable for cultivation of mycelium of the selected fungal species, but not all of them
had satisfactory organoleptic characteristics. The prospects of fermentation by the
fungi Flammulina velutipes, Pleurotus eryngii, P. ostreatus, P. pulmonarius of only
whole wheat and long grain rice were established.