Malic acid originated from Europe in 1785 when it was firstisolated from apple juice. Malic acid is the main acid in many fruits includinggrapes, peaches, and pears helping with their distinct taste. Malic acid itselftastes tart and sour. In beverages, malic acid helps provide the tart taste andbalance the pH. Malic acid is great because of its ability to dissolve quicklyin water which allows it to be used with other additives in a lot of differentfoods.
Malic acid is commonly used in food to add sourness andtartness. It is an important additive in candies like Warheads where it ismixed with hydronated palm oil to provide a long-lasting sour flavor that welove and hate. For this same reason, it is also used in other snacks like saltand vinegar chips to give them their punch. Malic acid is commonly paired withother additives to improve aftertaste and to taste more natural.
In the production of wine, beer, and cider, malic acid is usedto regulate the pH and total acidity. There is a key difference between pH andTotal Acidity (TA). The pH of a solution is the measurement of free-floating protonsat a specific time. When you begin to consume a beverage and it is in yourmouth these protons will bind to your taste receptors, lowering the totalnumber. This will cause more protons to leave the acidic compound and bind withyour taste receptors. So, TA is the total number of these protons that couldinteract with your mouth. This is important when designing the perfect beverageand that is why Malic acid is commonly used to ensure that you have just enoughacidity. Now, there are many methods of use in the beverage industry but it isthe most common choice for cinder making because of its apple origins and itssour green apple taste.
The reason you might want to use malic acid to regulate thepH of your beverage over some other ingredients is that it doesn’t produce anydiacetyl. Diacetyl is a common product of lactic acid and provides a butteryflavor. This is undesirable unless you’re trying to make a more buttery beer,in which case you might want to add the lactic acid.
Malic acid is not just used in food though, it is also anAHA that is used in a lot of cosmetic products including shampoos, bodylotions, and more.Alpha-Hydroxy Acids are very helpful in cosmetics. The mainreasons Malic acid is used in cosmetics is to hydrate the skin, exfoliate andremove dead skin cells, and generally improve the skin's condition. Malic Acidalso balances pH and helps hydrate the skin and is commonly used with glycolicacid and lactic acid.
There are many different health benefits to using malicacid. It is used to prevent urinary stones, to provide relief for fibrosis, andis used to help prevent the sensation of dry mouth. When added to food Malicacid could help prevent the growth of bacteria and help with preservation.
There are also two different types of malic acid. L-Malicacid is only found in nature, while LD-Malic acid is produced synthetically.L-malic acid is not nearly as common as LD-Malic acid. But what is the physicaldifference between them? L-Malic acid and D-Malic acid are isomers, which meansthey are made of the same elements and very similar structure but in this case,one bond between elements is facing the other way. LD-Malic acid is actually amixture of L-Malic acid and D-Malic acid.LD-Malic acid is safe to use inbeverages and acts just the same as regular L-Malic acid. So then how is malicacid made? A racemic mixture (a mixture containing 50% L and 50% D forms) isproduced from the hydration of maleic anhydride. An excellent example of aracemic mixture that is used all the time is the drug ibuprofen. TheS-Ibuprofen is believed to be more effective than the R-Ibuprofen, but they areboth perfectly safe just like malic acid.
Speaking of safe malic acid, in both forms, they aregenerally considered safe (GRAS) by the FDA and can be used in foods andbeverages for flavor-enhancing, pH control agent, and more. Overall, malic acidis a versatile tool to have whether it be in the kitchen or on the skin.
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Sources:
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/2S_-2-Hydroxybutanedioic-acid
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=184.1069
https://www.healthline.com/health/malic-acid-skin-care#skin-care-science
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4078333/
https://www.thebeveragepeople.com/how-to/beer/articles/adjusting-sour-beer-acidity.html
https://foodadditives.net/acidulents/malic-acid/
https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2014.3563
https://www.mashed.com/164183/what-really-makes-sour-candy-sour/
https://go.drugbank.com/drugs/DB0105
https://www.homecidermaking.com/hard-cider-acidity-ta-ph/
