Effects of fermentation and storage on the organic and fatty acid contents of tarhana, a Turkish fermented cereal food

Tarhana, commonly consumed as soup, is a traditional Turkish fermented food made with cereal, milk products, various vegetables and spices using yoghurt bacteria and baker's yeast as culture. This study investigates the daily changes that take place in organic and fatty acid composition of tarhana dough during its 3-day fermentation phase, as well as the monthly changes that take place in organic and fatty acid composition of five different types of stored tarhana during their 6-month storage period. During the 3-day tarhana fermentation period, titratable acidity increased from 26.50 to 41.4 g/kg, lactic acid increased from 13.58 to 20.26 g/kg, acetic acid increased from 4.85 to 7.78 g/kg, propionic acid increased from 2.44 to 7.58 g/kg, pyruvic acid increased from 0.16 to 0.58 g/kg and citric acid decreased from 6.39 to 3.58 g/kg. In addition, it was observed that the drying process caused tarhana to lose a significant amount of its organic acid content. Tarhana was found to be composed of 14% unsaturated and 86% saturated fatty acids. The predominant fatty acid in tarhana was found to be palmitic acid (40.13%). (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.