Fortification of yogurt with chickpea flour enhances overall quality of yogurt.

Abstract

Yogurt is well known for its health promoting properties. Chickpea flour has been suggested to increase the growth of probiotic bacteria during yogurt production, however, studies on the effects of dried beans flour on physico-chemical characteristics of yogurt are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of chickpea flour on the overall quality of yogurt and anticipate inventing a new protein rich yogurt product. In this study, 2% low-fat milk was supplemented with 1%- 5% (w/v) chickpea flour, inoculated with a yogurt culture (Danisco YO-MIX 883 LYO 500 DCU), fermented and stored at 4 ??C. The control and fortified samples were analyzed for pH, total titratable acidity (TTA), viscosity, and microbial counts over a 21-day storage period (4??C). The color test, viscosity, and sensory evaluation was also performed at the initial day of production. Results demonstrated that chickpea flour stimulated the growth of Streptococcus thermophiles and L. delbrueckii subsp. Bulgaricus after the initial fermentation and maintained a greater bacterial counts over a 21-day refrigerated storage. Furthermore, there was a significant (p<0.05) decrease in pH and enhancement in TTA in chickpea flour containing yogurt across the whole storage period. Fermentation time was decreased by 1.5 hours with inclusion of chickpea flour (pH:4.5). The color and viscosity value were almost constant and there was not a significant (p<0.05) difference between the control sample and the fortifying samples. There were similar results on sensory properties comparing the plain yogurt and yogurt with 1% and 2% of chickpea flour. The results suggest that chickpea fortified yogurt offers an alternative new fermented dairy product and provides a better quality.