Effect of the apple cultivar on cloudy apple juice fermented by a mixture of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Lactobacillus fermentum

•Cultivar influenced the fermentation properties of fermented cloudy apple juice.•Changfu gave the highest viable count and acetic acid content after fermentation.•Golden Delicious has the highest consumption of total sugars during fermentation.•Qinguan had in the highest contents of lactic acid after fermentation.•Changfu, Qinguan and Golden delicious suit for producing fermented cloudy juice. This study aimed to evaluate the fermentation performance of a mixture of Lactobacillus spp. in cloudy apple juices from nine cultivars. The results showed that cultivar influenced most the properties of the fermented cloudy apple juice. The fermented cloudy apple juices made from Changfu had the highest viable bacterial count and acetic acid contents (6.37 × 108 CFU/mL and 2.67 mg/mL, respectively). It also had higher sensory score, second only to Huaniu. The highest total sugar consumption, utilising fructose, glucose, and sucrose (33.07 mg/mL), was seen with Golden Delicious. Qinguan fermented cloudy apple juice had the highest contents of lactic acid (6.74 mg/mL) and total esters (921.36 μg/L); d-limonene also detected in this fermented cloudy apple juice. Of the nine cultivars examined in this study, Changfu, Qinguan, and Golden Delicious were the most suitable for producing fermented cloudy apple juice with better taste, higher viable count and more intense aroma.