Effect of gellan, alone and in combination with high-methoxy pectin, on the structure and stability of doogh, a yogurt-based Iranian drink

Abstract

Doogh is a traditional Iranian drink prepared by fragmentation and dilution of yogurt, with addition of salt and flavouring. In the present work, we have used viscometry, microscopy, particle-size analysis and measurements of serum separation to explore the effect of very low concentrations of gellan gum (0.01, 0.03 and 0.05 wt %), alone or in combination with 0.25 wt % high-methoxy pectin (HMP), on its structure and stability. HMP is known to prevent association of casein particles in acidic milk drinks by steric stabilisation, forming a protective layer bound electrostatically to the surface of the particles. Doogh incorporating 0.25 wt % HMP alone showed satisfactory stability on storage for ∼10 days at 5 °C, but after 15 days there was obvious separation into a dense sediment and a much clearer upper layer that occupied more than 80% of the total volume, which we attribute to progressive sedimentation of individual sterically-stabilised particles. Samples incorporating gellan (with or without HMP), by contrast, showed rapid development of a clear serum phase, with little further separation at longer times (up to ∼1 month), suggesting expression of fluid by contraction of a gel network (i.e. syneresis rather than sedimentation). Particle size increased dramatically (more than 10-fold) with increasing concentration of gellan, and at the highest concentration studied (0.05 wt %) a continuous network of casein-rich strands was observed by phase-contrast microscopy. The concentration of NaCl used in the doogh samples (0.5 wt % ≈ 85 mM) is known to be sufficient to maintain gellan in its ordered (double-helix) conformation, which has higher charge density than individual molecules of HMP. We suggest that network structure is formed by electrostatic attachment of gellan to fragments of acid-casein gel, thus increasing particle size and inhibiting surface-coverage by HMP, with weaker associations between gellan helices allowing the samples to flow. Observed decrease in serum volume with increasing concentration of gellan is attributed to formation of progressively stronger coupled networks with greater resistance to syneresis. Stabilisation of doogh with 0.05 wt % gellan in combination with 0.25 wt % HMP had no adverse effect on organoleptic acceptability, and reduced serum volume on protracted storage to ∼10% (in comparison with over 80% for the same concentration of HMP alone), suggesting that gellan could be of practical value in extending the shelf-life of doogh (and related acidic milk drinks).