Engineering Tools in Milk-Based Beverages

Abstract

Abstract Milk is a dynamically balanced mixture of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, salts, and water. These constituents coexist as stable emulsions, colloidal suspensions, and true solutions. Fat exists in the form of emulsified globules. Proteins occur as micelles in colloidal suspension while salts and lactose are in true solution. Most of the milk products are prepared by altering the native stable forms of any of these constituents. For instance, cheeses are prepared by milk protein coagulation, butter is prepared by phase inversion of milk fat, etc. Milk-based beverages may be prepared either by preserving the native stable form of milk constituents or by altering the stable form. Fermentation is the most common example of preparation of milk-based beverages employing the latter principle. Most of the milk-based beverages are prepared by adding nondairy ingredients to milk. These nondairy ingredients may be added either for better stability of the product or for harnessing the functional benefits of the added ingredient. Addition of stabilizing salts in flavored sterilized milk is an example of ingredient added for improving stability while probiotic organisms, dietary fibers, etc. form the examples of functional ingredients. Thus, the system needs to be engineered with the aim to (1) stabilize the foreign material in milk system and (2) increase the bioavailability of the added ingredient. Addition of ingredients for manufacturing low calorie dairy beverages also requires structural modifications. Structural engineering of the product matrix can be exploited to compensate for the sensorial impacts of reduced sugar and fat. Engineering for better stability or increased bioavailability of the functional ingredient involves structural modifications via alteration in milk proteins and fat, encapsulation of functional ingredients through techniques like microencapsulation and nanoencapsulation, single and double emulsions and nanostructuring of milk constituents, among others.