3 Commonly Used Set Yogurt Stabilizers You Should Know

What is Set Yogurt?

Set yogurt, also known as set-style yogurt, is a unique and classic fermented dairy product made from raw cow's milk and sugar as the main ingredients, with appropriate amounts of thickeners and other auxiliary ingredients, inoculated with lactic acid in and then filled and fermented in individual packages.

To offset its natural sourness, yogurt is also sold sweetened, sweetened and flavored or in containers with fruit or fruit jam on the bottom. The two styles of yogurt commonly found in the grocery store are set-style yogurt and Swiss-style yogurt. Set-style yogurt is poured into individual containers to set, while Swiss-style yogurt is stirred prior to packaging. Either may have fruit added to increase sweetness.

From Wikipedia

Nowadays, various kinds of set yogurt occupy a large market share but compared with stirred yogurt, set yogurt is easily affected by fermentation environment, transportation conditions and storage temperature, and the following undesirable phenomena may occur, such as poor coagulation, whey precipitation and texture damage.

By studying the effect of different gums on the texture of set yogurt, the selection of suitable gums can effectively improve the texture of set yogurt. The following is a brief introduction of the effect of three kinds of gums (set yogurt stabilizers) namely Gelatin, Pectin and Gellan Gum on the coagulability of raw cow's milk.

Three Kinds of Commonly Used Set Yogurt Stabilizers

1. Pectin

1.1 Effect of Pectin Addition on the Texture of Set Yogurt

There is a positive correlation between low methoxy pectin and pectin addition, and the hardness of the product increases with the increase of pectin addition, but the increase is not obvious; there is a positive correlation between the viscosity of the product and the addition of pectin in the range chosen for the test, and the viscosity of the product increases with the increase of pectin addition, but the increase is also not obvious.

1.2 Effect of Pectin on the Sensory of Set Yogurt

In yogurt, pectin mainly plays a role in increasing the smoothness and luster, but has little effect on the hardness, viscosity and overall storage stability of the product. Therefore, the amount of pectin added was chosen to be 0.05% -0.08%, based on functional and cost considerations.

2. Gelatin

2.1 Effect of Gelatin Addition on the Texture of Set Yogurt

There is a positive correlation between gelatin addition and product hardness, the product hardness increases with the increase of gelatin addition, and the increase is significant; Similarly, there is also a positive correlation between gelatin addition and product viscosity, the product viscosity increases with the increase of gelatin addition, and the increase is significant.

2.2 Effect of Gelatin Addition on the Sensory of Set Yogurt

Experiment shows that with the increase of gelatin addition, the texture of set yogurt increases and the smoothness decreases; the amount of gelatin addition is controlled at 0.3%-0.5%.

3. Gellan Gum

3.1 Effect of Gellan Gum Addition on the Texture of Set Yogurt

At present, there are two kinds of commercially available gellan gum: high acyl gellan gum and low acyl gellan gum, the different structures of which will lead to the differences in functional properties. Here we take high acyl gellan gum as an example. Experiments show that the addition of high acyl gellan gum and product hardness are positively correlated, product hardness increases with the addition of gellan gum, and the increase is more significant; the viscosity of the product decreases with the addition of gellan gum in the range chosen by the test, and the decrease is more significant.

3.2 Effect of Gellan Gum Addition on the Structure of Set Yogurt

High acyl gellan gum had a significant effect on the hardness, viscosity, taste and syneresis sensitivity of the product, and there was a negative correlation between the amount of gellan gum added and the syneresis sensitivity of the product,

The syneresis sensitivity of the product decreased with the increase of gellan gum addition, and the amount of whey precipitation decreased significantly;

The addition of gellan gum at 0.05% could significantly improve the quality of yogurt while taking into account the taste.

4. Conclusion

In the set yogurt system, the hardness and viscosity of the product were significantly improved with the increase of gelatin addition, and the recommended addition amount was 0.3%-0.5%.

Pectin has less influence on the hardness and other indicators of the product, but it can increase the smoothness and gloss, so considering the functional and cost factors, 0.05%-0.08% of pectin can be added to the yogurt;

The hardness of set yogurt is greatly helped by the addition of gellan gum, the hardness of the product will increase with the increase of gellan gum, and it can reduce the whey precipitation. However, the viscosity decreases significantly with the increase of gellan gum, and it is not good for the taste, so the addition amount is about 0.05%.

Based on the above view, it is recommended to add 0.4% of gelatin, or 0.08% of pectin, or 0.05% of gellan gum in the set yogurt product process formulation, so that the set yogurt product will have good coagulation and less whey precipitation, and the taste can also be taken into account, which can meet the product quality requirements.