摘要
Aloe gel, derived from Aloe vera plant is well known for its nutraceutical potential, It is available commercially as a juice with poor sensory quality. The therapeutic benefits of Aloe gel could be extended to food products concomitantly improving its acceptability. Dahi/curd is an Asian fermented dairy product that enjoys tremendous mass appeal. The objective of the present study was to formulate dahi enriched with Aloe gel （AG） as a functional ingredient and to study its effect on the quality of dahi. Plain dahi was prepared by addition of 2.5% skimmed milk powder （SMP） and suitable starter to milk. For the preparation of AG enriched dahi, SMP was replaced by AG at different levels （0.1-0.25%）. The products were evaluated for moisture, pH, titrable acidity （TA）, whey syneresis （WS）, total solid content （TS）, water holding capacity （WHC）, total yield （TY）, whiteness index （WI）, and viscosity. Microbial analysis and sensory evaluation were also carried out. Enrichment of dahi with AG was found to improve its quality characteristics by causing a significant reduction in WS and an increase in TA, TS, WHC, TY, WI and viscosity. AG dahi recorded good sensory acceptability. Storage study also indicated AG dahi to perform better in terms of the various parameters studied. The present investigation suggests the feasibility of adding Aloe gel powder as a functional ingredient to dahi to enhance product quality as well as its nutritional and therapeutic potency. It could be commercially exploited as a novel product.
