Abstract

Mead is an alcoholic beverage obtained by fermenting honey and diluting it with water. It is possible to add fruits in order to improve sensorial and functional food properties. Maqui is a native Chilean tree known for its medicinal uses. The aim was to evaluate the acceptance of traditional mead and mead made with commercial berries and maqui, a wild berry. Four different types of mead were prepared to evaluate their acceptance by two groups of tasters: a panel of experts composed of four trained winemakers and a panel of 30 non-experts. The treatments were: traditional mead (T1), mead with blueberries (T2), mead with raspberry (T3), and mead with maqui (T4). A chemical analysis was performed to characterize each treatment and a hedonic test to establish the acceptance of these products. The results indicated that the treatment with greater acceptance by the panel of experts was T1 (mead), while T3 (mead with raspberry) did not reach the minimum acceptance mark. For the panel of non-experts, the best acceptance was traditional beverage, T1, but all mead types reached the minimum acceptance mark. The use of maqui to produce mead is feasible, but further research is needed to improve its acceptance. © 2024 International Society for Horticultural Science. All rights reserved.