New insights into the acid gelation of camel milk casein

This study aimed to investigate the gelation properties of sodium caseinate prepared from camel milk casein micelles, and to confirm the effect of casein monomer composition on the acid-induced gels. The storage modulus of acid-induced gels from sodium caseinate improved by 21.87 times compared to camel milk. The firmness and WHC of camel milk acid gels were significantly increased from 8.74 ± 0.32 g to 21.3 ± 1.14 g and from 21.39 ± 1.03 % to 73.84 ± 2.08 %, respectively, as the casein changed from micelles into sodium caseinate. The network structure of camel sodium caseinate acid gels constituting of smaller casein clusters was denser than that of camel milk. These results suggested that casein monomer composition of camel milk casein was not the main reason for the failure to form acid gels. Our study provided new insights into the acid gelation of camel milk, showing the alternative way to solve the texture defects of camel yogurt products. • Camel milk sodium caseinate successfully formed acid gel. • The G ′, WHC and firmness of acid gels was related to the structure of camel casein. • The network structure of sodium caseinate gels were denser than that of camel milk.