Rheological, Physicochemical, Microbiological, and Aroma Characteristics of Sour Creams Supplemented with Milk Protein Concentrate

Milk protein concentrate (MPC) is widely used to enhance the stability and texture of fermented dairy products. However, most research has focused on yogurt products, and the effects of MPC on sour cream characteristics remain unknown. Therefore, we investigated the effects of different MPC levels (0%, 1%, 2%, and 3% w/w) on the rheological, physicochemical, microbiological, and aroma characteristics of sour creams in this study. We found that MPC supplementation stimulated the growth of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in sour creams, resulting in higher acidity than that in the control sample due to the lactic acid produced by LAB. Three aroma compounds, acetaldehyde, diacetyl, and acetoin, were detected in all sour cream samples. All sour creams showed shear-thinning behavior (n=0.41-0.50), and the addition of MPC led to an increase in the rheological parameters (ηa,50, K, G', and G"). In particular, sour cream with 3% MPC showed the best elastic property owing to the interaction between denatured whey protein and caseins. In addition, these protein interactions resulted in the formation of a gel network, which enhanced the water-holding capacity and improved the whey separation. These findings revealed that MPC can be used as a supplementary protein to improve the rheological and physicochemical characteristics of sour cream.