Influence of heat treatment on physicochemical and rheological characteristics of natural yogurts

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of heat treatment on physicochemical and rheological characteristics of natural yogurts, as well as the influence of lyophilization process on natural yogurts after reconstitution. In the first experiment, three yogurt treatments were processed, as follows: Treatment 1, yogurt produced with raw refrigerated milk; Treatment 2, yogurt produced with refrigerated pasteurized milk; and Treatment 3, yogurt produced with UHT (ultra-high temperature) milk, in addition to analyses of fat, protein, moisture, titratable acidity, and pH. The shelf life of yogurts at 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29 days of storage, as well as pH, acidity, syneresis, viscosity, viable lactic bacteria, and total coliforms were also assessed. In the second experiment, yogurts were submitted to lyophilization process, performed by scanning electron microscopy analysis and subsequently in those reconstituted, in addition to being assessed the physicochemical, rheological, and viable lactic bacteria characteristics. The results found in the first experiment showed that heat treatment was positive for viscosity, syneresis, and lactic bacteria, being viable until the 15th day of storage only for yogurts submitted to heat treatment. In the second experiment, lyophilization preserved the physicochemical characteristics of yogurts, but the number of initial lactic bacteria was different, also negatively affecting yogurt viscosity.