Preliminary observations on the effects of milk fortification and heating on microstructure and physical properties of stirred yogurt

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study how milk fortification and heating affect yogurt microstructure (micellar characteristics, protein network) and physical properties (viscosity, water-holding capacity (WHC), and graininess). Milk was fortified with skim milk powder (control), whey protein concentrate (WPC), caseinate, or a mixture of caseinate and whey protein. Two heat treatments were applied, giving average whey protein denaturation levels of 58% and 77%. For caseinate-enriched yogurts, the heating effect was negligible. When milk was enriched with WPC, heating led to a high level of cross-linking within the gel network. Heating increased yogurt viscosity and WHC, but also graininess. When milk was fortified with a blend of WPC and caseinate giving a whey protein-to-casein ratio of 0.20, the yogurt viscosity was greatly improved, while graininess was kept low. The results show a relationship between micelle solvation and yogurt microstructure, as well as micelle size in milk base and yogurt graininess.