Do you like goat cheese?

Some love them, others hate them. Goat's milk products divide society into two camps thanks to their distinctive taste and smell.

Milk is rightly considered one of the basic components of food. Currently, the consumption of milk (not only cow milk) and dairy products in the Czech Republic is increasing year by year. In 2019, people consumed an average of 249 kg of milk per person. Goat milk production occupies approximately 2.4% of the total world milk production. Goat milk in particular is also characterized by its high biological value. It is characterised by its high protein, fatty acid and vitamin content. It is the short- and medium-chain fatty acids that are largely responsible for the characteristic aroma and taste of goat's milk, which are not, however, well received by all consumers.

We would like to present a recent study that focuses on the assessment of important sensory descriptors such as colour, taste, aroma, consistency and creaminess in goat's milk yoghurt with the addition of additives such as almond flour, inulin or whey protein. This work was a collaboration between Dr. Legarová from FAPPZ, who has long been involved in dairy research, and Italian colleagues from Università degli studi di Catania and was published in the prestigious journal LWT - Food Science and Technology.

The study shows that the possible addition of additives during the production of yoghurt significantly affects the sensory properties and subsequent consumer preferences for the final product. Sensory analyses were carried out in fully equipped laboratories by two groups of trained assessors (both Czech and Italian). Changes in the number of lactic acid bacteria, specifically lactobacilli and streptococci, were also monitored in the prepared goat yoghurt samples.

Sour dairy products, with yoghurt being the main representative of this category, are a popular food worldwide. An interesting result of the study was that the addition of almond flour had a rather negative effect as it did not reduce the unwanted goat odour as expected. Whereas the samples with the addition of almond flour and whey protein at the same time showed a reduction in the intensity of the almond aroma and taste, as well as the undesirable goat aroma. These samples showed a positive effect on consistency and improved creaminess, whereas the addition of additives did not have a statistically significant effect on the numbers of microorganisms observed.