Low Sugar Acidified Milk Citrate Buffering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current low sugar acidified milk products often have bland or empty tastes due to lactose reduction, which cannot be fully compensated by added sugars or sweeteners, and exhibit reduced citrate levels, affecting their sensory properties and buffering capacity during fermentation.
Innovation Solution
The method involves separating milk components using membrane filtration techniques to produce a low sugar acidified milk product by adjusting the citrate level to a natural level, adding citrate in the form of trimagnesium citrate, and optionally hydrolyzing lactose to monosaccharides, ensuring the product retains a rich and fresh natural taste and yoghurt-like texture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If lactose content is reduced in acidified milk products, then total sugar content is reduced, but the taste becomes bland and empty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the citrate concentration parameter from reduced levels (typical in lactose-reduced products) to natural milk levels (0.05-0.2%). This parameter change restores the buffering capacity and enables the development of full yoghurt flavor without requiring high lactose content, thus resolving the contradiction between low sugar and good taste
Solution Approach 2:
Citrate acts as an intermediary substance that mediates between low lactose content and good taste. By adding citrate to compensate for the buffering capacity lost through lactose reduction, the patent enables low sugar content to coexist with rich yoghurt flavor, using citrate as the mediating element
2Quantity of substance
If lactose is reduced with membrane filtration, then total sugar content is reduced, but the buffering capacity during fermentation is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the citrate concentration parameter to natural milk levels (0.05-0.2%) to compensate for the buffering capacity lost through lactose reduction. This parameter adjustment restores the chemical buffer system in the low lactose milk base, enabling stable fermentation and proper acidification without compromising compositional stability
3Quantity of substance
If citrate level is reduced in low sugar products, then sugar content is lowered, but sensory properties and buffering capacity are negatively affected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by maintaining citrate at natural milk levels (0.05-0.2%) rather than reducing it further, even in low sugar products. This partial maintenance of citrate levels is sufficient to restore buffering capacity and enable proper fermentation, achieving good sensory properties without requiring excessive citrate addition
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for a significant reduction in total sugar content up to 70% without impairing the taste, maintaining a natural citrate level, and enhancing the buffering capacity, resulting in a product with a full and rich yoghurt flavor and improved sensory properties.
Implementation Method 1
Lactose is conveniently separated from an ultrafiltered milk protein concentrate using nanofiltration
Implementation Method 2
a milk base which comprises various fractions derived from milk including a protein fraction, a fat fraction and a mineral fraction, and optionally a lactose fraction produced by using appropriate membrane filtration techniques
Implementation Method 3
fermenting the milk base with a starter culture to provide a low sugar acidified milk product
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing a low sugar acidified milk product includes providing a milk base having a protein content of about 2.5% to about 8%, a fat content of about 0% to about 10%, a lactose content of about 0.6% to about 2.5% and an ash content of about 0.6% to about 0.9%; adding a citrate preparation to the milk base; optionally homogenizing the milk base; pasteurizing the base milk; fermenting the milk base with a starter culture to provide a low sugar acidified milk product having a pH of about 4.4 to about 4.7. A low sugar acidified milk product includes added citrate preparation in an amount of about 0.1% to about 0.18%, calculated as a pure citrate. A low sugar acidified milk product, wherein the total citrate concentration of the product in the range of about 0.1% to about 0.25%, calculated as pure citrate.