Effect of Kefiran and Milk Proteins Addition on the Rheological Behavior of Glucono-delta-Lactone Induced Milk Gels

Abstract

The properties of kefiran as a texture modifier was evaluated providing new perspectives in understanding the rheology of fermented dairy products and the possibility of using this generally recognized as safe polysaccharide as an additive in dairy and other foods. For this purpose, the effect of kefiran, Sodium Caseinates (SCN) and Whey Proteins Concentrates (WPC) addition on the rheological behavior of glucono-δ-lactone (GDL) induced milk gels was evaluated. The acidified milk samples were prepared from homogenized and pasteurized full fat (3.5%) bovine milk with or without the addition of kefiran, SCN and WPC at 1.5% concentration. The incubation temperature was set at 37°C. According to the results, the incubation time required for the pH to reach 4.4 increased with increasing SCN and WPC concentration. Kefiran addition did not affect incubation time, however it did enhanced elasticity, apparent viscosity and thixotropic behavior of milk gels. The impact effect of kefiran on the rheological behavior of acid milk gels was more pronounced when compared to that of WPC, but lower to SCN effect. The protein matrix of GDL induced milk gels is governed by hydrophilic interactions in the presence of kefiran or WPC and by hydrophobic ones when SCN are added.

Greek Semi-Hard and Hard Cheese Consumers’ Perception in the New Global Era

“…Greece has been one of the most cheese-producing EU countries since ancient times [17]. Numerous traditional cheeses are made throughout Greece today.…”

“…Numerous traditional cheeses are made throughout Greece today. Some of them are types of the same cheese variety, have somewhat different steps in technology or possibly the same, but are known with different local names [17]. Greek traditional cheeses, a total of 30 varieties, can be grouped, according to their technology of manufacture, as white brined (4), other brined (2), soft (5), semi-hard (3), hard (12), and whey (4) cheeses, as shown in Table 1 [17].…”

“…Some of them are types of the same cheese variety, have somewhat different steps in technology or possibly the same, but are known with different local names [17]. Greek traditional cheeses, a total of 30 varieties, can be grouped, according to their technology of manufacture, as white brined (4), other brined (2), soft (5), semi-hard (3), hard (12), and whey (4) cheeses, as shown in Table 1 [17]. Cheeses, being traditional foods (TFs), have geographical and traditional indicators in the EU for the promotion and protection of the names of quality foodstuffs, their origin, and authenticity (e.g., PDO: protected designation of origin, PGI: protected geographical indication, TGI: traditional specialty guaranteed) [18].…”

Biodegradable Films from Kefiran-Based Cryogel Systems

“…It is an extracellular polysaccharide that is composed of glucose and galactose, on equal ratios, which is formed and excreted during the metabolic activity of generally recognized as safe (GRAS) lactic acid bacteria with many functional, health-promoting, and therapeutic properties assigned to it [3]. Kefiran can be isolated to a high purity standard from kefir grains by using methods that have been described previously [7], however, its low formation rate during fermentation restricts its use, for the time being, to small-scale and high-margin applications [3].…”

Rheology and microstructure of kefiran and whey protein mixed gels

“…It is a water-soluble non-adsorbing heteropolysaccharide containing galactose and glucose (Ghasemlou et al 2012). Kefiran is GRAS (generally recognized as safe) and found to improve viscosity and viscoelastic properties of acid milk gels (Dimitreli et al 2016;Rimada and Abraham 2006). It can form gels alone at low temperature (Zavala et al 2015) and edible films with good mechanical and barrier properties (Ghasemlou et al 2011;Zolfi et al 2014).…”