Techno-functional properties and enhanced consumer acceptance of whipped fermented milk with Ficus carica L. By-products

The development of new fermented milks formulations enriched with fruit by-products may widen the existing market offer of products matching consumer demands on novel, and "no artificial added sugars" products. Unmarketable fig fruit, food by-product, could be considered as a potential ingredient to develop a new dairy product. The aim of this study was to study the consumer acceptance of fermented milk enriched with different percentage of pasteurized fig purée (by-products) and their technological properties. It was found that the quantity of fig puree added influenced fermented milks texture and spontaneous syneresis. Formulations containing 40% fig puree showed the highest values of firmness, consistency, cohesiveness, and viscosity index with improvements seen from 20% fig puree addition. Furthermore, the inclusion of fig puree in fermented milks reduced the levels of lactic acid bacteria comparing with control samples, but the microbial load was higher than 10⁶ UFC g^-1 LAB (estimated counts in MRS) and 9 UFC g^-1 LAC (estimated counts in M17). Polyphenolic content increased with fig puree percentage, enhancing antioxidant activity. Volatile compound analysis identified hexanoic acid, acetoin, and butanoic acid as predominant in enriched fermented milks. It is also worth highlighting that sensory evaluation revealed better ratings for texture and sweetness acceptance in formulations containing 30% and 40% of fig puree, correlating with instrumental data. Overall, the quality parameters were maintained and even improved, leading to high consumer acceptability ratings.