Improving the Quality and Sensory Properties of Drinkable Yogurt Made from Goat and Sheep Milk with Date Puree

Abstract

Goat's milk (GM), sheep's milk (SM), and its fermentation products are renowned for their nutritional and health advantages, yet they often face challenges in the market due to their distinctive flavor, which some consumers find unpleasant. The incorporation of fruit purees presents an appealing solution for enhancing taste, odor and masking the undesirable flavors in these dairy products. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of supplementing plain fermented GM or SM with date puree (DP) at concentrations of 1.5, 3, and 5% on physicochemical, antioxidant, rheological and sensory properties of the products. The pH-values, ash, fibers, antioxidants, and viscosity of both flavored goat drinkable yogurt (FGY) and flavored sheep-drinkable yogurt (FSY) were significantly higher (p≤0.05) compared to both plain drinkables. Drinkable yogurt fortified with 5% DP had a higher total solid content, while samples fortified with 1.5% and 3% DP had higher protein and fat contents than the control samples. The addition of DP improved significantly (p≤0.05) the sensory attributes of FGY and FSY, and the yogurt samples were more acceptable than controls. The cold storage (5◦C) for 10 days had significant effects (p≤0.05) on the properties of all yogurt samples. In conclusion, the addition of DP improved the physicochemical