The invention discloses a method for regulating and controlling the strength of
casein gel based on tripolyphosphate
concentration gradient, belongs to the technical field of
food processing and colloidal materials, and is particularly suitable for precise texture regulation and control of high-
protein gel in dairy products. In order to solve the problems of poor strength adjustment flexibility and insufficient
network structure compactness of
casein gel in the prior art, the
concentration gradient (0-60mEq / L, and adjacent concentration difference greater than or equal to 5mEq / L) of tripolyphosphate is designed, and the dissociation degree of
casein micelles is regulated, so that the integral number of
micelle suspension and the proportion of hydrophobic groups are synchronously increased, and the stability of the casein
micelle is improved. Finally, directional enhancement of the
gel strength and the network compactness is realized. The method specifically comprises the following steps: mixing tripolyphosphate solutions with at least three concentration gradients with casein
micelle powder, fully dispersing, adjusting the pH value to be neutral, adding 0.5-3% of an acidifying agent (such as
gluconic acid-
delta-
lactone), and carrying out constant-
temperature treatment at 35-40 DEG C to form gel. Dynamic
rheology and texture analysis show that the maximum storage modulus of the gel can reach 2596-28000 Pa, the
hardness reaches 179.88-2349.19 N, and the performance parameters are in
positive correlation with the
concentration gradient of tripolyphosphate. The method has the innovativeness that 1) the micelle dissociation degree is controlled through concentration gradient design, and the limitation of single concentration regulation and control is broken through; and 2) the crosslinking density of the gel network is enhanced through double improvement of the
volume fraction of dissociated micelles and the proportion of hydrophobic groups.