Economical process for producing oat milk

Abstract

The emergence of functional and sustainable food products is supported by growing consumer awareness of the environmental impact of their food choices and the health benefits of functional foods (Granato et al., 2023). This trend is expanding in Africa, with a focus on environmentally friendly food products (Assan, 2023). Dairy products are considered both functional products par excellence given their positive impact on human health, with the exception of people suffering from lactose intolerance (Elkinany et al., 2019). On the other hand, plant-based milk alternatives are gaining popularity due to their health benefits and low environmental footprint (Silva & Smetana, 2022). Oat milk is emerging as a promising dairy alternative, offering various health benefits (Schuster et al., 2018). Furthermore, it is particularly recommended for people with celiac disease, an autoimmune condition triggered by gluten consumption (Spector Cohen et al., 2019). The prevalence of celiac disease is increasing in Morocco (Oujamaa et al., 2019), making it essential to find gluten-free alternatives such as oat milk. This naturally gluten-free plant-based milk can thus play a crucial role in the diet of people with celiac disease, helping to improve their quality of life by providing a nutritious and safe option for their health. Technological challenges related to oat milk production, such as starch gelatinization, have prompted research into enzymatic processes aimed at improving the quality of final products (Berggren, 2018). Despite these challenges, oat milk remains a commendable and sustainable dairy alternative (Rostamabadi et al., 2022). Our objective is to produce oat milk using a thermosensitive enzyme and modifying the standard process to obtain a low-viscosity, high-protein grain beverage from a mixture of Moroccan common oat varieties, derived from interspecific crosses between Moroccan hexaploid cultivars of A. sativa and wild tetraploid oat genotypes, registered in the official catalog of the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA) of Morocco.