Quality of coffee creamers as a function of protein source

Many U.S. consumers add a sweetener or creaming agent to their brewed coffee. An ideal creamer, when added to coffee, should remain stable, dissolve readily, and provide whitening ability. In general, these properties are imparted by the protein component. Four different proteins - sodium caseinate, isolated wheat protein, soy protein isolate and whey protein concentrate - were used to formulate coffee creamers, individually and in combination, and the resultant creamers were evaluated for functionality. Coffee creamers containing plant proteins had significantly greater apparent viscosity but lower L* values than did creamers made with dairy proteins. Creamers made with higher concentrations of isolated wheat protein exhibited syneresis, whereas no syneresis occurred if sodium caseinate was the predominant protein. Only the creamer formulated with soy protein isolate alone exhibited feathering when added to hot, brewed coffee. These results indicate that coffee creamers can be formulated with plant proteins and sodium caseinate.