From Milk Kefir to Water Kefir: Assessment of Fermentation Processes, Microbial Changes and Evaluation of the Produced Beverages
The aim of the present study was to investigate the feasibly of using traditional milk kefir grains for the production of water kefir-like beverages and assess the changes in the physicochemical characteristics and the microbial populations of the fermented beverages. To this end, experiments of mil...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Fermentation |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/8/3/135 |
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| author | Dimitris Tzavaras Marina Papadelli Ioanna Ntaikou |
| author_facet | Dimitris Tzavaras Marina Papadelli Ioanna Ntaikou |
| author_sort | Dimitris Tzavaras |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aim of the present study was to investigate the feasibly of using traditional milk kefir grains for the production of water kefir-like beverages and assess the changes in the physicochemical characteristics and the microbial populations of the fermented beverages. To this end, experiments of milk fermentation were primarily conducted at different temperatures and upon selection of the optimal, a gradual substitution of the substrate was performed by replacing milk from a sucrose-based solution. After the successful fermentation of the sucrose substrate, fruit juices were used as fermentation substrates. Sensory evaluation of the sugar-based beverages was also performed in order to access their acceptability for consumption. According to the results, the transition from milk to water kefir is indeed feasible, leading to the production of beverages with relatively higher ethanol concentrations (up to 2.14 ± 0.12% <i>w</i>/<i>v</i>) than milk kefir and much lower lactic acid concentrations (up to 0.16 ± 0.01% <i>w</i>/<i>v</i>). During the fermentation of the sugary substrates, yeasts seemed to be dominant over lactic acid bacteria, in contrast to what was observed in the case of milk kefir, where LAB dominated. The sensory evaluation revealed that all sugar-based beverages were acceptable for consumption, with the fruit-based ones obtaining, though, a better score in all attributes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:51:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2f010394311742b89129ef016982c9b3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-5637 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:51:00Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fermentation |
| spelling | doaj.art-2f010394311742b89129ef016982c9b32023-11-24T01:09:01ZengMDPI AGFermentation2311-56372022-03-018313510.3390/fermentation8030135From Milk Kefir to Water Kefir: Assessment of Fermentation Processes, Microbial Changes and Evaluation of the Produced BeveragesDimitris Tzavaras0Marina Papadelli1Ioanna Ntaikou2Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Peloponnese, GR241 00 Kalamata, GreeceDepartment of Food Science and Technology, University of Peloponnese, GR241 00 Kalamata, GreeceDepartment of Food Science and Technology, University of Peloponnese, GR241 00 Kalamata, GreeceThe aim of the present study was to investigate the feasibly of using traditional milk kefir grains for the production of water kefir-like beverages and assess the changes in the physicochemical characteristics and the microbial populations of the fermented beverages. To this end, experiments of milk fermentation were primarily conducted at different temperatures and upon selection of the optimal, a gradual substitution of the substrate was performed by replacing milk from a sucrose-based solution. After the successful fermentation of the sucrose substrate, fruit juices were used as fermentation substrates. Sensory evaluation of the sugar-based beverages was also performed in order to access their acceptability for consumption. According to the results, the transition from milk to water kefir is indeed feasible, leading to the production of beverages with relatively higher ethanol concentrations (up to 2.14 ± 0.12% <i>w</i>/<i>v</i>) than milk kefir and much lower lactic acid concentrations (up to 0.16 ± 0.01% <i>w</i>/<i>v</i>). During the fermentation of the sugary substrates, yeasts seemed to be dominant over lactic acid bacteria, in contrast to what was observed in the case of milk kefir, where LAB dominated. The sensory evaluation revealed that all sugar-based beverages were acceptable for consumption, with the fruit-based ones obtaining, though, a better score in all attributes.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/8/3/135fermented foodswater kefircow milksugarsmicrobial population shift |
| spellingShingle | Dimitris Tzavaras Marina Papadelli Ioanna Ntaikou From Milk Kefir to Water Kefir: Assessment of Fermentation Processes, Microbial Changes and Evaluation of the Produced Beverages Fermentation fermented foods water kefir cow milk sugars microbial population shift |
| title | From Milk Kefir to Water Kefir: Assessment of Fermentation Processes, Microbial Changes and Evaluation of the Produced Beverages |
| title_full | From Milk Kefir to Water Kefir: Assessment of Fermentation Processes, Microbial Changes and Evaluation of the Produced Beverages |
| title_fullStr | From Milk Kefir to Water Kefir: Assessment of Fermentation Processes, Microbial Changes and Evaluation of the Produced Beverages |
| title_full_unstemmed | From Milk Kefir to Water Kefir: Assessment of Fermentation Processes, Microbial Changes and Evaluation of the Produced Beverages |
| title_short | From Milk Kefir to Water Kefir: Assessment of Fermentation Processes, Microbial Changes and Evaluation of the Produced Beverages |
| title_sort | from milk kefir to water kefir assessment of fermentation processes microbial changes and evaluation of the produced beverages |
| topic | fermented foods water kefir cow milk sugars microbial population shift |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/8/3/135 |
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