Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen (YAN)

Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen (YAN) is a fundamental parameter to manage correctly the alcoholic fermentation. It is constituted by two components: the inorganic nitrogen present in juice as ammonium ion (NH4+) and organic nitrogen constituted by a-amino nitrogen of amino acids.

The CDR CiderLab analytical method for the analysis in cider:

• it is much easier than the method of the formol number generally used and it can be done in autonomous way at production line in real time without using toxic substances and with a simple photometric reading.
• it allows the determination of the two nitrogen parameters separately, giving the possibility of making any corrections in a way more accurate than the analysis with formol number;
• The result is not influenced by the presence of proline and hydroxy-proline, amino acids present in juice, and not assimilated by yeasts.

Inorganic nitrogen (ammonium) is determined with the enzymatic way whereas organic nitrogen is determined with the o-phthalaldehyde method.