Effect of Concentration of Starter Culture and Incubation Time on Sensory Attributes of RTE Functional Greek Yoghurt

Aims: The aim of the current study was to optimize starter culture concentration and incubation time for the preparation of Ready-To- Eat functional Greek yoghurt.

Study Design: Optimization of culture concentration and incubation time for RTE functional Greek yoghurt.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Dairy Technology, Dairy Science College, Hebbal, Bengaluru, Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Bidar, Karnataka, India. Between June 2023 and April 2024.

Methodology: Ready-To-eat functional Greek yoghurt was prepared by different levels of starter culture concentration and incubation time period and optimized based on sensory analysis using 9-point hedonic scale.

Results: The addition of various levels of yoghurt culture (0.15, 0.20, 0.25, and 0.30%), the yoghurt was evaluated by sensory characteristics. According to trial results, 0.20% yoghurt culture scored higher than the control sample (7.14, 7.16, 7.15, and 7.16) in each category for colour and appearance, body and texture, flavour, and overall acceptability (8.06, 8.44, 8.60, and 8.65 out of 9.00). Effect of varying incubation period was analyzed after inoculation of yoghurt culture for different incubation hours (5, 6, 7 and 8 h). While judging sensory attributes for different parameters such as colour and appearance, body and texture, flavour, and overall acceptability, experimental sample at 6 hours of incubation scored maximum (8.27, 8.55, 8.72 and 8.67) as opposed to the control (7.15, 7.16, 7.17 and 7.16) respectively.

Conclusion: The optimized levels of starter culture concentration and incubation time improved the overall sensory quality of the Ready-To-Eat Greek yoghurt.