Applications of Maltitol in Functional Yogurt

Applications of Maltitol in Functional Yogurt

Compared with other dairy products, yogurt is an ideal low-energy food. At present, most low-fat yogurts on the market use aspartame as a sweetener. However, if maltitol is used together to make sugar-free yogurt, the stability of its flavor will be increased and the functional characteristics of yogurt will be increased.

Practical recipes for several sugar-free yogurts.

1. Stirred sugar-free yogurt: 70% skim milk, 14% maltitol, 1.53% milk fat, 2.68% whey powder, 1.80% lactic acid bacteria, 9.85% juice, 0.10% xanthan gum, 0.03% aspartame, and appropriate amount of edible flavors.

2. Coagulated sugar-free yogurt: 80% skim milk, 14% maltitol, 1.5% milk fat, 3% whey powder, 2.0% lactic acid bacteria, 0.07% aspartame, and appropriate amount of edible flavors.

Notes: For stirred yogurt, aspartame is usually added after the fermentation of the strains. It can be mixed with juice or added separately from the juice. For coagulated yogurt, aspartame is added after the milk is sterilized and before the strains are fermented. During the fermentation process, due to different fermentation time and strains, aspartame will lose 15%-35%, so the amount of aspartame added should be 0.05%-0.08%.

The carbohydrates in yogurt mainly come from sugar. In order to obtain fruit yogurt with a carbohydrate content of less than 1% and maintain a certain sweetness, people usually add sugar to fruits to make jam-like fruit pieces or thick syrup containing whole berries; or replace sucrose with crystalline fructose, add pectin thickeners to make syrup, and then add 40%-50% fruit pieces or whole berries and cook them for later use. This approach makes the process complicated and the finished product may not be good. This problem can be solved by directly adding maltitol.

Yogurt made with maltitol has a long shelf life, is rich in nutrients, and is suitable for all kinds of people. Therefore, the market for sugar-free yogurt will become increasingly broader.