Yogurt drink consumption in the United States has increased by 66% over the past five years. Carbonated dairy beverages have become increasingly popular in recent years, and innovations in this area could help increase the consumption of these beverages. Currently, carbonated dairy beverages, like kefir, are the most popular carbonated dairy beverages on the market. Carbonation at appropriate levels in dairy products, especially dairy beverages, has been shown to improve the sensory characteristics, quality, and shelf life of these products. Probiotics, which are added to yogurt beverages for health benefits, are not damaged or negatively affected by carbonation.
Carbonated dairy beverages are dairy-based beverages such as yogurt, milk, buttermilk, etc. that have been carbonated through microbiological or physical methods. Carbonation of these beverages creates a tingling sensation in the mouth upon consumption, which alters the sensory experience of consumers. According to Tamim and Robinson, “Soft drinks are very popular worldwide, and a yogurt drink (flavored with orange, lemon, cherry, or natural apple) improves on the thirst-quenching qualities and refreshing taste of regular yogurt, while providing a pleasant tingling sensation in the mouth.” Carbonated drinkable yogurts may be a good option for those looking for carbonated beverages.
Carbonated Dairy Beverages
Carbonated dairy drinks can be divided into two separate categories:
The first category includes dairy drinks that are carbonated by adding yeast to the fermentable substrate, which produces carbon dioxide during the fermentation process. The second category includes dairy drinks that are carbonated by mechanical or physical means during regular food processing in the food industry.
1. Yest Addition
Some of the most commonly studied carbonated dairy beverages are kefir and koumiss. Traditional fermentation of these types of beverages results in the release and development of lactic acid, alcohol, carbon dioxide, and aromatic flavor compounds.
1-1. Kefir
Kefir grains are small grain-like matrices of lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, yeast, casein, polysaccharide, and sugars, which are used during fermentation. From a nutritional point of view, kefir contains vitamins such as B1, B2, B5 and C. Kefir also contains amino acids and minerals such as calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. Kefir is especially beneficial for those who are lactose intolerant and want to consume dairy products, as kefir has a particularly high activity of galactosidase, an enzyme that breaks down lactose during the long fermentation time of 12 to 24 hours to produce kefir. While the health benefits have their place in increasing kefir sales and research, research has also been conducted into the use of kefir starter cultures in other new and innovative products. In recent years, there has been a lot of research into products that can be made using whey, a byproduct of dairy production, especially in cheese production. The researchers used kefir starter cultures to create kefir drinks from three different substrates, milk, whey and soy. Whey was used to investigate whether this byproduct could be used for a unique dairy drink, and soy for a non-dairy option. The three drinks, when compared based on physical properties and bacterial counts, showed very little difference in important sensory and physical characteristics over the four weeks of analysis. This, along with other research in the field, proved that kefir grains may be used to ferment and culture new products.
1-2. Koumiss
While koumiss is currently not popular in the United States, koumiss is a unique and popular beverage in the Middle East that is fermented by natural yeasts. Unlike kefir, koumiss is traditionally made with mare’s milk. The bacterial strains and nature of koumiss are not defined by standard regulations, but all koumiss products typically contain thermophilic bacteria and yeast.
2. Other Carbonated Methods
While kefir and koumiss are dairy beverages that have been carbonated by yeast, dairy beverages may also be carbonated through other methods. The process of carbonated dairy beverages can be done in liquid or dry form. The dry process involves adding a powder to a liquid base that releases carbon dioxide upon mixing. The most common method in the industry is to carbonate homogenized final products.
Carbonation
The sensory properties of carbonated beverages and how carbonation affects consumer preference have been well studied. There is a lot of research on carbonation and its effects on the sensory properties of dairy beverages. In addition, there is research that focuses on the effects of carbonation on shelf life, quality, and in the case of yogurt beverages, probiotic levels.
1. Sensory Aspects:
Sensory studies have been conducted that show that carbonated dairy drinks are as or more popular than their non-carbonated counterparts.
Sensory results were collected from 10 trained participants who performed an analysis on drinks that varied in carbonation, sucrose, and flavoring levels. The results showed that as carbonation levels increased, the perception of sweetness decreased. The higher the sucrose content, the less carbonation was detectable.
2. Shelf life:
Results have shown that adding carbonation to dairy beverages effectively extends the shelf life of some dairy beverages from one month to four months. The shelf life of dairy products (one to three weeks) is limited by the enzymatic activity of gram-negative psychotrophic bacteria, yeasts, and molds, leading to off-flavors or microbiological spoilage. The addition of carbon dioxide to dairy products, either before processing or when added to the finished product, effectively extends shelf life. The three ways in which shelf life is extended by carbonation are the removal of oxygen from the headspace, which inhibits microbial growth, the reduction of product pH due to the formation of carbonic acid, and the effect that carbon dioxide has on the metabolism of spoilage microorganisms.
3. Probiotic Survival
Research conducted on carbonated dairy drinks showed that carbonation of dairy products does not affect the survival of probiotic strains.
Challenges and Opportunities
Challenges
One of the biggest challenges to consider when discussing how to consume carbonated dairy beverages is the decline in milk and dairy consumption. Historically, children have been the largest consumers of milk products, while milk and dairy beverages have been less appealing to adults. In recent decades, milk has been consumed less and less by children, and has been replaced by sugary, naturally-artificially flavored, non-nutritive sweetened, and carbonated beverages. The age group that consumes the most of these sweetened carbonated beverages is adolescents. More accessible nutritious options such as carbonated dairy beverages are a good alternative to the sugary drinks that children and adolescents consume.
Opportunities
With the decline in sales and consumption of carbonated beverages, there is an opportunity for other carbonated beverages to replace soda. At the right level, carbonation has a positive impact on the sensory characteristics, taste, and overall effects of beverages in general. Non-dairy carbonated beverages are another opportunity that should be explored and explored when marketing alternatives to sugary sodas and other non-nutritious beverage options. Carbonation is a positive attribute to add to yogurt drinks because carbonation has a thirst-quenching effect on consumers, which helps increase beverage consumption.
Conclusion
More studies are still needed on how carbonation affects the sensory properties of carbonated dairy beverages. Other studies on carbonated dairy beverages have shown that carbonation can significantly increase shelf life and that carbonation does not affect probiotic levels in yogurt. Carbonated dairy beverages face challenges in gaining popularity because there is a lack of proper research on these beverages, however, there are many opportunities to study and popularize carbonated dairy yogurt beverages and even carbonated non-dairy yogurt beverages. Overall, carbonated dairy beverages are a small category that deserves more academic attention and research to study its characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages.
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