Journal on Processing and Energy in Agriculture (Jan 2012)
Investigation of the potential usage of tea fungus kombucha in the production of fermented dairy products
Abstract
Due to the increasing consumers' interest for 'healthy' food, it is necessary to include functional ingredients in our food. Tea kombucha mushroom is just one of them. Black tea sweetened with sucrose is most commonly used as a substrate for tea fungus microorganisms. The metabolic activity of kombucha in the milk and obtaining a new fermented diet dairy drink is the subject of these investigations. The aim is to investigate the effect of different concentrations of inoculum kombucha on the quality of the obtained fermented milk products. In the study, the standard microbiological, chemical and sensory methods were used. The low-energy fermented dairy products with 0.9% milk fat were produced by using the concentrated inoculums symbiotic kombucha culture and probiotic yogurt. In the samples produced by the fermentation of kombucha, the content of L-lactic acid was significantly higher than the content of D-lactic acid, and the highest values were recorded in the kombucha capsules (K-0, 12%),with the average of 0.958 g/100g. The metabolic activity of kombucha fermented milk lactose is slower compared with the probiotic culture, but its content is certainly acceptable, and not much higher than the probiotic yogurt. Fermented drinks contain certain amounts of D-glucose and Dfructose, which depend on the origin and amount of inoculum. The sensory quality of fully fermented milk products obtained by the kombucha fermentation indicate that the ethanol content is minute. The resulting product is characterized by high-quality sensory, microbiological and chemical properties.
