Intoxicating veggie

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 20: A four-member research team of Central Tuber Crops Research Institute has successfully prepared red wine from purple sweet potato.

The research work has also been published by the International journal of Food Science and Technology.

The research team used purple sweet potato for extraction of red wine because of the presence of Anthocyanin pigment, a red colour, in the potato that gives a natural red colour to the wine. This is same as the red wine prepared from grapes.

The procedure to make the wine includes peeling and crushing of potatoes before turning them into pulp. Then, water, sugar and other chemical ingredients are added to the pulp and the mixture is allowed to ferment with wine yeast. The wine also contains 9.3 per cent alcohol.

“Grapes contain direct glucose and fructose, while potato contains starch. The starch is converted to sugar by using the enzyme Amylase,” said Sandeep Panda, a member of the team and PhD scholar from Utkal University.

The research team said this variety of wine could replace the traditional wine prepared from grapes as it is cost-effective and grapes are not widely available in Odisha.

“The price of a bottle of red wine starts from Rs 350. But the wine prepared from purple sweet potato costs only half as much,” said Panda.

Principal scientist of Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, also a member of the project, R.C Ray, said the wine could help the farmers associated cultivate purple sweet potatoes. “Odisha is a major producer of sweet potato. So, wine can help many farmers, especially those from the tribal regions,” said Ray. He also said that they were in constant touch with organisations, which can use the technology for bulk production of wine.

The researchers have also prepared herbal wine from purple sweet potato. The process has also been published by the journal of food processing and preservation. The herbal wine had been prepared with 18 additional medicinal plant parts, including garlic, ginger, night jasmine and cardamom. The researchers claim that the wine can act as a remedy for common ailments such as cold, skin diseases and dysentery.

While the manufacturing process of the herbal wine is same as that of red wine prepared from purple sweet potato, the procedure includes addition of medicinal plants before fermentation.