Effect of adding coconut milk on the physicochemical, proximate, microbial and sensory attributes of «Dahi»

Abstract

Introduction. Plant-based or non-dairy milk alternates are the growing trend in newer food product development. Therefore, the present study was conducted to explore the quality and potential of «Dahi» prepared by cow milk and different levels of coconut milk. Materials and methods. The obtained formulations, A (Control), B, and C were prepared by mixing cow milk to coconut milk in three different rations (100:0, 50:50, 0:100). The proximate composition, physicochemical, sensorial, and microbial properties were determined to ascertain the quality attributes of the «Dahi» samples. Obtained data were analyzed statistically, and means were compared at 5% level of significance. Results and discussion. The results of the physicochemical analysis showed increasing trends in the values for pH (4.05-4.33), TSS (14.05-14.90), and Sweetness Index (10.60-20.13) while substituting cow milk with coconut milk. There was also a remarkable increase in the proximate values for moisture (82.75-85.20%), fat (1.57-3.06%) and ash (0.71-2.94%). The results suggested that coconut milk addition leads to a considerable increase in mineral content as well as unsaturated fatty acids that may promote health benefits. A reverse trend was observed for acidity (0.64-0.56%), protein (3.13-2.98%) and carbohydrate (11.85-5.82%) values in coconut enriched «Dahi». The bacterial counts of all the samples (4.51-5.34) ×10 5 cfu/ml were within the acceptable standard for fermented dairy products. The results of the current study also demonstrated that the addition of coconut milk significantly improved the «Dahi»s' aroma and consistency. Overall, the acceptability of coconut milk enriched «Dahi» was highly comparable to the control («Dahi» of 100% cow milk). Conclusions. Thus, «Dahi» from the coconut milk can be a match-able substitute for the conventional dairy-based «Dahi», which could be particularly advantageous to the lactose-intolerant people and high coconut producing regions.