Investigating the effect of protein type and protein concentration on texture and mouthfeel sensory properties of plant and animal-based beverages

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Recent consumer demand has driven the food industry to develop the next-generation plant-based beverages. One major challenge has been mimicking the desirable textural and mouthfeel properties of animal-based counterparts. Despite the critical role of these properties in consumer acceptance, research comparing these aspects in plant- and animal-based beverages remains limited. This study addressed this gap by examining the impact of protein type (animal vs. plant) and concentration (8 g vs 13 g/8 fl.oz) on beverage texture and mouthfeel characteristics while developing a comprehensive sensory lexicon for these attributes. Sixteen texture and mouthfeel descriptors were generated, each with unique definitions and references. Sixteen assessors evaluated 14 different beverages that were grouped by protein content: low protein (LP; 8 g of protein/8 fl. oz) and high protein (HP; 13 g of protein/8 fl. oz). Each beverage group included two animal-based beverages (commercial skim milk [CSM] and milk protein isolate [MPI]) and five plant-based beverages (pea protein isolate [PPI], soy protein concentrate [SPC] and three types of soy protein isolates [SPI 1–3]). Similarities were observed between LP animal-based beverages, while small differences were observed within LP-SPIs. LP-SPC was significantly different for 8 out of the 16 attributes compared to all other LP-beverages. The same trends were observed in HP-beverages, with the differences among protein sources in the LP-beverages consistently mirrored in HP-beverages. These findings underscore that textural and mouthfeel differences between plant and animal-based beverages are predominantly influenced by the type of protein used rather than protein concentrations within the range of 8–13 g/8 fl. oz.