Plant-Based Alternatives to Yogurt: State-of-the-Art and Perspectives of New Biotechnological Challenges

Abstract

Due to the increasing demand for milk alternatives, related to both health and ethical needs, plant-based yogurt-like products have been widely explored in recent years. With the main goal to obtain snacks similar to the conventional yogurt in terms of textural and sensory properties and ability to host viable lactic acid bacteria for a long-time storage, several plant-derived ingredients (e.g., cereals, pseudocereals, legumes, and fruits) as well as technological solutions (e.g., enzymatic and thermal treatments) have been investigated. The central role of fermentation in yogurt-like production led to specific selections of lactic acid bacteria strains to be used as starters to guarantee optimal textural (e.g., through the synthesis of exo-polysaccharydes), nutritional (high protein digestibility and low content of anti-nutritional compounds), and functional (synthesis of bioactive compounds) features of the products. This review provides an overview of the novel insights on fermented yogurt-like products. The state-of-the-art on the use of unconventional ingredients, traditional and innovative biotechnological processes, and the effects of fermentation on the textural, nutritional, functional, and sensory features, and the shelf life are described. The supplementation of prebiotics and probiotics and the related health effects are also reviewed.

Vegan Alternatives to Processed Cheese and Yogurt Launched in the European Market during 2020: A Nutritional Challenge?

“…A significant difference in fat, carbohydrates, and energy content was observed. The high-fat content in VAY is attributed to the high amount of fats used, such as coconut, cashew, and almond, to attain the desired texture and consistency [35]. However, the flavoring role of animal fat is substituted by added flavoring substances (trisodium citrate, citric acids, lemon juice concentrate, malic acid, lactic acids) (Table 2).…”

Lactic Acid Bacteria-Fermentable Cereal- and Pseudocereal-Based Beverages

“…One of the issues studied is the production of fermented cereal-or pseudocerealbased beverages without the addition of thickeners or stabilizers. For this purpose, LAB producing exopolysaccharides (EPS) are studied (Table 8) [11,100,[163][164][165][166][167]. EPS-synthesis is a strain-dependent metabolic characteristic, affected by the composition of the matrix and fermentation settings [168,169].…”

“…In addition, the plant diet has been on trend for several years, and people who are eager to follow the new trend in nutrition and seek milk alternatives or new flavors reach for vegetable beverages, which are often referred to as milk-like beverages. Plant beverages are becoming more popular, and researchers are currently focusing on improving the organoleptic features, texture, and stability of these types of beverages and sustainable nutrition [5][6][7][9][10][11][12].…”

In vitro protein digestibility and physico‐chemical properties of lactic acid bacteria fermented beverages enriched with plant proteins

“…have proteolytic activity and can therefore hydrolyze proteins into smaller peptides (Kiers et al, 2000;Raveschot et al, 2018) which are better absorbed compared to native protein (Grimble, 1994). Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation has been used for many years with plant proteins to improve their nutritional value (Montemurro et al, 2021;Tangyu et al, 2019). This proteolytic activity often leads to a release of bioactive peptides and an increase in digestibility (Pontonio et al, 2020;Verni et al, 2019).…”