The influence of production technology on the chemical composition of Madzun (grape molasses) grom the Vranec grape variety

Grape molasses is one of the popular and traditional food in North Macedonia for the last 10 years. It is produced in the traditional way and is represented on the market as Grape honey and popularly Madzun. According to legends, the name Madzun comes from the Turkish word meaning boiled fruit with a certain density. Grape production which occupies the most important place in every period of Macedonian history, grape molasses which is made with grapes, and many other products are required to be made in conformity with the standards and quality. In North Macedonia, Madzun is produced mainly from the Vranec red wine variety, but also from the table varieties Cardinal, Muscat hamburg, Afuz Ali (Dattier de Beyrouth), etc. Grape molasses (Madzun) is produced traditional and industrial technique of different flavor, structure and appearance in North Macedonia. Grape molasses is a good energy and carbohydrate source due to their high sugar content (up to 50%-80%) in the form of glucose and fructose; therefore, it easily passes into the blood without digestion (Karababa, E., Develi Isikli, N., 2005). The average energy value of grape molasses is 293 kcal 100 g-1 (Yoğurtςu, H., Kamişli, F., 2006). Phenolic compounds in grape molasses (Madzun) are affected by many factors, such as properties of the varieties, cultivation conditions, the location of the production area and the degree of ripeness of the grape (Kelebek H., at all., 2012). Titratable acidity is inversely proportional to pH. Acidity may vary depending on the grape variety and producing regions. According to grape pekmez notification (TMFAL 2007 and 2016), it is classified as sweet pekmez if their pH range is from 5 to 6, and they are classified as sour pekmez when their pH range is from 3.5 to 5. Grape molasses are very rich minerals. Some minerals (such as calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium) found in molasses contain enough to cover a significant portion of a person's daily needs. Molasses contains (+2) valuable iron minerals that can easily be absorbed in the human digestive system (Batu, A., 2006).