Preparation of an elixir from common juniper (Juniperus communis L.) berries: the new Naviglio extractor versus the traditional maceration technique

The paper applies two extraction methodologies, the traditional extraction by maceration and the Naviglio Extractor technique, which uses a rapid solid-liquid dynamic extraction (RSLDE); the obtained results compared. Both methodologies habe been used for the preparation of an extract from common juniper (Juniperus communis L.) berries). The extracts obtained with the two different procedures habe been used to prepare elixir-liquors according to a traditional recipe, and were tested by a sensory panel for their organoleptic characteristics. The study showed that the Naviglio Extractor technique resulted in a faster extraction time, about 72 times faster than the maceration method, with a similarly efficient and reproducible extraction. Kinetics of the extraction were also calculated and were represented by an exponential function of the type y(t) ¼ A*e–(k/t). Moreover, sensory analysis showed that there were no significant organoleptic differences between the liquors obtained using the two methods.