Millet milk: A comparative study on the changes in nutritional quality of dairy and nondairy milks during processing and malting

Abstract

AbstractThe effect of different processing like pasteurization, chilling, freezing, cooling and hardening on the protein and fat content of millet milk in comparison to that of dairy milk and plant milk such as coconut milk was studied. When compared to dairy milk, the millet milk showed higher energy (383 kcal) and comparable level of carbohydrates (78%). While the millet milk has higher crude fiber (0.9%) than dairy milk (0.73), it has lesser fiber content than coconut milk (2.26%). Owing to its mineral content, millet milk also exhibited high ash content (0.35%). The low temperature processes resulted in a very slight reduction of protein (8.5–7.8%) and fat content (0.74–0.6%) when compared to that of unprocessed millet milk (9.1%) yet it still stood much higher than that of dairy milk (2.4–1.8% protein and 1.2–1.1% fat) even after being processed. There was also an increase in TSS and a decrease in viscosity with lower temperatures. Malted milk showed an increase in protein and fiber content whereas an increase in ash content. The malting process proves beneficial since it results in a product with increased protein and decreased fat levels.Practical applicationsWhen considering a millet milk as a replacement for dairy milk, the replacement capability of the millet milk should be studied in order to know in which kind of products it can be applied. Toward the same purpose, it is essential to study the changes in nutritional quality through processing at different temperatures. Since nutritional as well as pH, TSS and viscosity play the major role right from flavor to texture in case of milk products, they were studied upon mainly in this case.