Role of Yoghurt Cultures and Incubation Time in Enhancing Sensory Qualities of Yoghurt and Water Holding Capacity of Greek Yoghurt

Aims: The current research study aimed to investigate the impact of varying starter concentration, incubation temperature and temperature individually on sensory characteristics of yoghurt and water holding capacity of Greek yoghurt. Study Design: The study was experimental and was laboratory-based for optimizing the base for Greek yoghurt spread production. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the Department of Dairy Technology, Dairy Science College, Hebbal, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, Between January 2024 and October 2024. Methodology: Yoghurt was prepared by different levels of starter culture concentration (1, 2 and 3%) and incubation period (4, 5 and 6 hours) with optimization based on sensory analysis using 9- point hedonic scale. Water holding capacity was analyzed using the centrifugation method. Results: The Study elucidated that yoghurt prepared with inoculation of 2% starter culture concentration showcased the most favourable sensory characteristics obtaining a high score in flavour (8.4), colour and appearance (8.37), body and texture (8.44) and overall acceptability (8.49) on a 9-point hedonic scale. Among the different incubation hours at 42ºC, a 5-hour duration yielded the most promising results with sensory evaluations achieving 8.46, 8.42, 8.53 and 8.53 for flavour, colour and appearance, body and texture and overall acceptability, respectively. In addition, the combination of a 2% starter culture and 5-hour incubation at 42ºC resulted in highest water holding capacity, quantified as 76.11%. Conclusion: The study showed that the sensory qualities of yoghurt and water-holding capacity of Greek yoghurt are greatly influenced by the optimal yoghurt culture concentration and incubation time, with the most favourable results obtained with a 2% culture addition and a 5-hour incubation period.