Ultra High Pressure Homogenization of Soy Milk: Effect on Quality Attributes during Storage

The present work analyzed soy milk prepared from whole dehulled soybeans. The traditional method of soy milk preparation leads to wastage of about 35% of soybean solids in the form of okara, which gets filtered out. In the current study, soy milk was prepared with practically 100% recovery of soybean solids and treated with continuous flow high pressure processing (207 and 276 MPa pressure, 121 and 145 degrees C exit temperatures, and 0.75 and 1.25 L/min flow rates), and the changes in the physical, chemical, microbial, and sensory properties during 28 days of storage at 4 degrees C were analyzed. The treated soy milk remained stable for 28 days. There was a significant reduction in the particle size of soybean solids which did not change during storage. The pH of the treated soy milk was significantly lower than the untreated soy milk and it reduced further upon storage. The soy milk was pasteurized with high pressure processing coupled with preheating. No lipoxygenase activity was detected. Compared to commercial samples, there was no significant difference in the astringency, bitterness, or chalkiness of soy milk prepared in the study.