The Influence of Transglutaminase Treatment on Functional Properties of Strained Yoghurt

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of Transglutaminase (TG) on the physicochemical, microbiological and sensory properties of strained yoghurt. Strained yoghurt samples were produced with four different enzyme concentrations; C (Control), T1 (0.74 Unit TG g(-1) protein), T2 (1.29 Unit TG g(-1) protein) and T3 (1.85 Unit TG g(-1) protein). The samples were evaluated regarding chemical composition, proteolysis, texture profile, viscosity, water holding capacity, microbiological counts and sensory properties. Cross linking of milk proteins by TG enzyme improved the physical properties of the yoghurts before straining. Surprisingly the textural parameters of the strained yoghurts were not affected by the enzyme but the water holding capacity was improved. Higher treatments of the TG enzyme decreased the proteolytic activity and acidity with increasing storage time. On the contrary enzymatic cross linking had no significant effect on the microbiological properties and the sensory attributes were not unfavorable affected.