Beverage Alcohol Choice Among University Students: Perception, Consumption and Preferences

This paper aims to analyze and compare the beverage alcohol choice among university students. The study was carried out on a total of 1069 students (men and women) from University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Romania. A general questionnaire assessed alcoholic beverage consumption, perception and preference. The main reasons associated with alcohol consumption were relaxation and socialization followed by taste and flavour. The most respondents are attracted by flavor and aroma of the favourite beverage. The participants in the study were not heavy social drinkers (only 1.7 % of participants consume alcohol every day). Beer and wine, were the alcoholic beverages ranked in the top of preferences. Our findings can provide information for educators and policymakers in Romania to implement target-orientated interventions against alcohol abuse at universities. The results of this study may also add evidence to university administrators and public health educators elsewhere dealing with students from Romania

Comparison of Ferments in the Process of Functional Beverage Making

The aim of this study was to compare the main ferments selected to be used in the process of mead making: Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and pollen, the latter having been used in ancient times as ferment. It has only been recently that the market has exhibited significant interest in developing foods containing functional ingredients. Honey has been a corollary of hidden nutritional and medicinal value for centuries. Mead is the result of alcoholic fermentation, by mixing different proportions of honey with water and pollen, as a fermentation agent. The fermentation process was monitored by collecting samples periodically and analyzing the alcohol concentration, total extract, the level of fermentation, the pH, as well as the yeast number with the Thoma cell counting chamber. Additionally, physicochemical (acidity and vitamin C) and sensory parameters were determined for the final products. Results and discussion: Pollen-fermented beverages have a higher alcohol concentration than beverages fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is explained by the additional intake of carbohydrates induced by the addition of pollen