NUTRITIONAL AND RHEOLOGICAL ENHANCEMENT OF PEANUT MILK YOGURT FORTIFIED WITH BROWNTOP (BRACHIARIA RAMOSA L.) MILLET STARCH, JACKFRUIT (ARTOCARPUS HETEROPHYLLUS L.) SEED AND APPLE (MALUS DOMESTICA L.) POWDER

Abstract

Purpose: In response to the increasing demand for plant-based dairy alternatives, this study investigates the enhancement of peanut milk yogurt by fortifying it with browntop millet starch, jackfruit seeds and apple powder to improve its texture and nutritional profile. Methods: Formulations were optimized based on the preliminary trials of various compositional analyses. Results: Variant PYY comprising of 70% peanut milk, 10% each of browntop millet starch, jackfruit seed and apple powder was found to be the most preferred sample by the sensory panelists with 8.1±1.11 as the average overall acceptability score. It exhibited characteristic nutritional composition of 13.4 g/100 g fat, 6.4 g/100 g protein and 58.7 mg/100 g calcium content. Physico-chemical attributes revealed considerable similarity among the standard and other samples of fortified peanut yogurt. Conclusions: The combined fortification with functional ingredients not only supports the nutritional enhancement of the yogurt but also promotes improved gut health, anti-oxidant activity and weight management. Furthermore, the addition of millet starch prevented phase separation thereby improving its shelf-life and giving a desirable mouth feel.