Description of the cooperation project:
The objective of the project is to introduce bagasse and/or malt germ in dairy desserts such as yogurt, which entails technological development consisting of the incorporation of fiber and protein from these by-products in order to improve the nutritional and functional profile of said matrix, without reducing its popular acceptance for its organoleptic properties, in response to the real needs of a market that demands healthier products.
Results obtained:
In order to work with the bagasse, a drying protocol was developed until reaching a humidity of 6%. Drying was not necessary for the malt germ, since it is obtained directly from the brewing process with 3% humidity. The addition of malt germ to yogurt, even at the lowest concentration to declare it as a “source of fiber” product, could not be developed due to the negative contribution of its flavor. Of the prototypes developed from dried bagasse (Yogurt with caramelized bagasse; Yogurt with bagasse, oats and sugar; Yogurt with bagasse topping; Yogurt with sweetener and bagasse -control-) the best valued in terms of preference and purchase intention was yogurt with caramelized bagasse. This yogurt obtained an average rating of 6.32 out of 9, and with a predisposition to buy 2 out of 3 surveyed consumers. Below this prototype and with similar valuations, the other products that exceeded the control in preference but remained below 50% in purchase intention were positioned. These results show that the use of dehydrated beer bagasse as an ingredient to enrich yogurt in fiber is a very interesting option. On the other hand, the yoghurts formulated with bagasse presented an improved functional activity, since they increased the fat reduction in C. elegans (animal model for in vivo tests) by up to 12% compared to a conventional yoghurt.
