RHEOLOGICAL, STORAGE STABILITY AND SENSORY PROFILING OF LOW-FAT YOGHURT FORTIFIED WITH RED CAPSICUM CAROTENOIDS AND INULIN

Inulin and color imparting carotenoid pigments are candidate functional ingredients for development of a low-fat functional yoghurt. The study evaluates the potential of carotenoid-rich extract from red-capsicum (5%) and different levels of inulin (4, 6 and 8%) on functional and structural properties of low-fat setyoghurt. Changes in pH, syneresis, sensory and rheological parameters were monitored for 14 days at 6 +/- 2C. The variations in sensory acceptability and syneresis were related to rheological properties. Hysteresis area in the flow curve (shear stress-shear rate) increased until 10th day of storage. Inulin fortification significantly reduced syneresis by 59% over control. The time sweep and frequency sweep experiments confirmed stability of protein networks in yoghurt fortified with inulin at high levels. Consistency index of yoghurts was higher for inulin-fortified yoghurts and kept increasing up to 10 days. Results suggest promising applications of natural carotenoids in conjunction with inulin for improving quality of low-fat yoghurt.