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When fermenting milk, lactic bacteria convert part of α- and β-lactoses into d- and l- lactic acids, causing a pH decrease responsible for casein coagulation. Lactic acid monitoring during fermentation is essential for the control of dairy gel textural and organoleptic properties, and is a way to evaluate strain efficiency. Currently, titrations are used to follow the quantity of acids formed during jellification of milk but they are not specific to lactic acid. An analytical method without the use of any reagent was investigated to quantify lactic acid during milk fermentation: in situ quantitative proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Two methods using in situ quantitative proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were compared: (1) d- and l-lactic acids content determination, using the resonance of their methyl protons, showing an increase from 2.06 ± 0.02 to 8.16 ± 0.74 g/L during 240 min of fermentation; and (2) the determination of the α- and β-lactoses content, decreasing from 42.68 ± 0.02 to 30.76 ± 1.75 g/L for the same fermentation duration. The ratio between the molar concentrations of produced lactic acids and consumed lactoses enabled cross-validation, as the value (2.02 ± 0.18) is consistent with lactic acid bacteria metabolism.

No abstract

Dairy gels (DG), such as yoghurts, contain both solid and liquid fats at the time of consumption, as their temperature rises to anything between 10 and 24 °C after being introduced into the mouth at 4 °C. The mass ratio between solid and liquid fats, which depends on the temperature, impacts the organoleptic properties of DG. As the ordinary methods for determining this ratio can only be applied to samples consisting mainly in fat materials, a fat extraction step needs to be added into the analytical process when applied to DG, which prevents the study of the potential impact of their colloidal structure on milk fat fusion behavior. In situ quantitative proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (isq (1) H NMR) was investigated as a method for direct measurements in DG: at temperatures between 20.0 and 70.0 °C, the liquid fat content and the composition of triacylglycerols of the liquid phase (in terms of alkyl chains length) were determined. Spectra of isolated milk fat also enable the quantification of the double bonds of triacylglycerols. Statistical tests showed no significant difference between isolated milk fat and milk fat inside a DG in terms of melting behavior: the fat globule membrane does not seem to have a significant influence on the fat melting behavior.