Food Science and Engineering Research (Mar 2024)
Investigation of Consumer Reactions Towards Yoghurts Produced by Using Autochthonous Isolates
Abstract
Microorganism diversity of yoghurt, an important fermented milk product, is decreasing, because only two strains are used in production and industrial yoghurts are used as starter cultures. In this study, a total of 114 traditional and exopolysaccharide (EPS)-yoghurt samples produced from cow milk using different combinations of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus were offered to consumers. Consumers were asked to evaluate some characteristics (general acceptability, packaging and labelling, flavor, texture, and odor) of yoghurt samples using a hedonic 5-point scale (1: dislike extremely; 2: dislike slightly; 3: neither like nor dislike; 4: like slightly; 5: like extremely). 60% of consumers scored general acceptability as "like extremely" for the samples. 13.30% of consumers preferred “neither like nor dislike” for packaging and labelling. In addition, consumers were asked to produce homemade yoghurt using these yoghurts and 73.30% of consumers liked flavor of the homemade yoghurt. Textural properties of homemade yoghurt with traditional and EPS-yoghurts were evaluated as "like extremely" by 66.70 and 73.30 % of consumers, respectively. Finally, odor properties of homemade yoghurt with traditional samples were liked by 73.30% of consumers. On the contrary, 46.70% of consumers liked odor of homemade yoghurt with EPS-yoghurt samples. Results showed that packaging and labelling of the yoghurt samples and odor characteristic of EPS-yoghurt need to be improved. It is thought that the yoghurt samples were generally liked by consumers and these products can be consumed as yoghurt or can be used as starter culture in homemade production. The products can be beneficial for national economy and preservation of diversity of yoghurt bacteria.
