Healthy grain applications require different processing in different dairy products. For example, fermentation technology enables starch and protein with larger molecular weight in grains to be decomposed into dextrin, oligosaccharide, reducing sugar, polypeptide and amino acid with relatively smaller molecular weight. Zhou Xuesong and other studies have shown that oligosaccharides are beneficial to the hydration of yogurt and can increase the viscosity; while peptides are beneficial to the growth and acid production of Streptococcus thermophilus. This is because the milk itself contains only a small amount of non-protein nitrogen, and the proteolytic ability of Streptococcus thermophilus is very weak. Therefore, milk is not an ideal medium for the growth of Streptococcus thermophilus. The addition of peptides promoted the growth and acid production of Streptococcus thermophilus, thereby accelerating the fermentation process of fermented milk. Fructooligosaccharides also have a growth-promoting effect on probiotics. Therefore, the application of healthy grains in dairy products not only meets consumers’ demand for dairy varieties and nutrition, but also optimizes the processing characteristics of dairy products.
01Healthy cereals and their products
Application in milk powder
Milk powder is a powder product made of raw milk as the main raw material, with or without auxiliary materials, after sterilization, concentration and spray drying. Healthy Cereal Milk Powder is a concoction made from healthy cereals and fresh milk.
Healthy grain milk powder is not only comprehensive and balanced in nutrition, but also solves the problem of shortage of milk sources in terms of raw materials.
The most important thing about the prepared product is stability and solubility. The stability and solubility of healthy grains in milk powder can be solved by techniques such as ultra-fine grinding and extrusion.
Moreover, dairy products contain a considerable proportion of casein micelles, which are amphiphilic and porous.
Dairy’s amphiphilic, porous micellar structure allows nutrients from healthy grains to be better preserved in dairy.
At the same time, the results of Mahmoodani et al. showed that lipid oxidation products were negatively correlated with vitamin D3 content. The nutritional factor sterol in healthy grains is the precursor of vitamin D3.
That is, with the increase of sterol content, lipid oxidation reaction will decrease. Therefore, healthy cereals rich in sterols can be used in dairy products to extend the shelf life of dairy products.
02Healthy cereals and their products
Application in fermented dairy products
Fermented milk is a beverage or food made from raw milk by adding lactic acid bacteria and fermented. The milk beverage produced by lactic acid fermentation not only prolongs the shelf life of the product, but also has the functions of promoting the secretion of digestive enzymes and intestinal peristalsis, improving the rate of food digestion and absorption, and immunity of the body.
Viscosity is the main parameter for evaluating the texture of fermented milk. Nemska et al. showed that the formation of casein micelles is due to the increase in the number of cross-links between protein particles and the increase in structural strength, which leads to an increase in the water-holding capacity, hardness and viscosity of the gel.
The protein in different healthy grains changed the density of the protein matrix in the microgel structure at different rates, thus affecting the viscosity of fermented milk.
In addition, dairy proteins and peptides can improve the bioavailability of minerals and trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, selenium, and iron in healthy grains, while the complex carbohydrates (fiber, long-lasting) in healthy grains starch and oligosaccharides) also contain bacterial growth factors and prebiotic components.
03 Healthy cereals and their products
Application in ice cream
Ice cream is a complex food emulsion system composed of ice crystals, dispersed fat globules and air, protein-hydrocolloid structure and continuous unfrozen aqueous phase.
It is loved by consumers for its icy taste. However, with the improvement of people’s living standards and the change of consumption concept, consumers require ice cream products to satisfy the taste and also have certain health care effects.
Healthy cereals are also favored by consumers due to their rich nutritional value and diverse processing properties.
Therefore, the development of an ice cream containing healthy grains will have broad market prospects. For example, Moriano et al. studied the effect of ice-binding proteins (also known as antifreeze proteins) on the structure and texture of ice cream, and the results showed that ice cream made with ice cream from winter rye contained a large number of ice crystals, which coated the ice cream mixture. In a rigid network, the ice cream hardness is reduced, the product is smooth, and the overall acceptability is higher.
Additionally, the higher levels of fat in healthy cereals can stabilize the air phase, thereby helping to optimize the physical properties of ice cream, such as texture and melting properties.
04 Outlook
The application of healthy grains in dairy products not only enriches the nutritional types of dairy products, but also expands the flavor of dairy products and the utilization of healthy grains. The advantages of using healthy grains in dairy are:
①Compared with milk, dairy products containing healthy grains have the characteristics of low calorie and high nutrient content.
② Dairy products containing healthy grains make up for the lack of natural nutrients such as calcium, riboflavin and casein in pure plant milk.
③ The texture of healthy grains or processed healthy grains is close to milk fat.
Therefore, dairy products with healthy grains have a richer texture and natural grain flavor. In addition, since healthy grains are generally naturally sweetened, no additional sweeteners are required.
And what is lacking about healthy grain dairy on the market is:
① There is a single variety of healthy grains. There are more single-grain products, especially oat products. But there are fewer multi-grain blends, such as quinoa, brown rice, and barley.
② The presentation form of healthy cereals is limited. Currently, it is more common to present oats in yogurt in the form of pellets. But there are very few other dairy products with real large grains.
③ There are fewer product types for specific consumer groups. With the development of the times, consumers will pay more attention to their nutritional and health care functions when choosing products, especially those with obesity and diabetes.
④ Few cross-border products. Such as meal replacement shakes, etc. At present, the meal replacement milkshakes include Mengniu’s slow-burning fiber milkshake milk and Wahaha’s slender beauty quinoa milkshake.
⑤ There are few product upgrades. Whether it is pure milk or yogurt in the market, the flavors are mostly fruit flavors, and there are few cereal flavors such as barley and quinoa. Therefore, how to develop healthy multi-grain health dairy products with delicate taste and unique flavor is an important research content at present.