Effect of macro nutrients on physical properties of shelf stable milk alternative beverages

Production of plant-based milk beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to bovine milk is one of the major challenges in the industry. This is mostly because the increased levels of nutritional components (i.e., protein, fat) significantly impact the sensory and physical properties of the finished beverages. In this study, we investigated how varying levels of macro nutrients affected physical properties of oat, almond and coconut-based alternative milk beverages.

Twelve plant-based milk beverage variants were made at a pilot scale with 4 to 8g of protein, 5 to 8g of fat, and 12g of carbohydrate per 240 ml serving size. The final products were then evaluated for viscosity, color, and insoluble solids.

Our findings showed that increasing protein and fat levels increased the apparent viscosity of the finished products regardless of the type of the milk base. L*, a* and b* values were used to evaluate the impact on color. The highest L* value (as an indication of whiteness) was achieved when about 6g of protein and about 7g of fat were used; and almond-based beverages had the highest L* values compared to coconut and oat-based beverages. The a* and b* values increased with increasing protein levels. Insoluble solids in the finished beverages were evaluated using a centrifugal method; where the total amount of pellet formed in a centrifuge tube was measured. The least amount of pellet was formed when about 5-6g of protein and about 6-7g of fat was used. Coconut-based beverages had the largest amounts of pellets compared to almond and oat-based beverages.
Overall, our work showed the significant impact of macro nutrients on physical properties of alternative milk beverages; and the results provided optimal levels of protein and fat contents to achieve better shelf stability and appearance.