Today, plant-based yogurts are the next hot dairy alternative trend. However, at the same time, these products encounter many formulation issues. Citri-Fi® citrus fiber's high water holding and emulsification properties help create high quality dairy-free yogurts including minimizing syneresis, thickening texture and improving food labels.
Plant-based Yogurts Bases – Old and New
Years ago, the only non-dairy yogurts found on the grocery shelves ranged from soy to rice based. However, today, this expanded into a variety of options. Other dairy-free bases moving up in rank include: almond, coconut, hemp, cashew and oat. Moreover, plant-based yogurts now reside next to their animal-based counterparts in the grocery store. As a result, this gives consumers an opportunity to try something new or use these products as a gateway to a plant-based lifestyle. In the end, plant milks will provide the segway into dairy-free yogurts. As a result, new plant milk bases such as lupin, flaxseed or sesame seed will cross over into this category.
Typical Issues in Creating Non-Dairy Yogurts
If you make your own yogurt at home, you know that dairy yogurts are relatively easy to make due to the dairy-based proteins innately present in milk. However, making dairy-free yogurts turns into a whole new adventure. The easy part involves fermenting the base but the resulting product typically produces thin and watery textures.
Some issues that arise in creating vegan type yogurts include: poor texture, syneresis or lack of a full-fat mouthfeel. As a result, product developers seek out highly functional natural ingredients to counter quality issues. At the same time, developers resort to using additives to compensate for not having dairy proteins in the food matrix. Due to this, their food label declarations evolve into less consumer friendly versions.
Common Stabilizers used in Dairy-free Yogurts
To create a thicker texture and minimize syneresis, developers typically reach for stabilizers. For instance, in vegan style yogurts, modified starches, pectin, locust bean gum, agar and other gums are added to plant-based yogurts to improve texture and stability. However, each stabilizing system presents its own limitations.
For example, modified starches are excellent in minimizing syneresis but at the same time they create pasty textures. On other hand, developers tend to add stabilizers like food gums. This adds viscosity and smooths out the pastiness but at the same time cause the texture to become snotty and unnatural. As a result, multiple stabilizing ingredients are used which makes the ingredient declaration long and cumbersome. In the end, syneresis remains to be a challenging issue in these type of applications.
Citri-Fi Citrus Fiber Benefits in Plant-based Yogurts
Citri-Fi is produced from byproduct or upcycled material of the citrus juicing process which aligns with dairy alternatives' sustainable and environmental goals. This citrus fiber is created using a patented process which opens up the fiber to provide high water holding and emulsification properties. Because of the intact native pectin, Citri-Fi provides multiple benefits in non-dairy yogurts. These superior features sets this citrus fiber apart from others in the market.
For instance, this natural ingredient between 0.01% and 0.60% contributes to smoother and thicker textures which simulates a full-fat mouthfeel. And, due to the water and oil holding power, this natural citrus fiber minimizes syneresis to create more stable products. Citri-Fi is recommended to be used with starches and/or gums to create high quality plant-based yogurts. And because Citri-Fi’s labeling options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp or citrus flour, this natural ingredient resonates well in the natural and clean label markets. Lastly, Citri-Fi is non-allergenic, non-GMO project certified and has no E-number.
