An overview on ultrasonically treated plant-based milk and its properties – A Review
Ashwin Kumar Sarangapany, Amirtha Murugesan, Amrutha Sri Annamalai, Azhagendran Balasubramanian, Akalya Shanmugam
Abstract
Milk is one of the most familiar words to individuals of all age groups whose essential requirement ranges from neonates to senior citizens. It has become an unforgettable part of our diet. In spite of our self-sufficiency, people started drifting to another reliable option called vegan milk or non-dairy alternative which has been in limelight for quite some time. There were many factors involved in the shift and the most prominent being lactose intolerance, prevention of animal exploitation, carbon footprint, etc. Despite this beverage seeming similar to dairy milk, in reality it is far from it. Dairy milk is a natural emulsion, which is highly stable unlike the non-dairy milk alternative which sediments easily. In order to increase the stability and consumer desirability of the product, researches are being organized in this area. One such modern technology is ultrasonication and this proved to be an impacting preservation and processing technique for a wide range of food products. Thus, this review will highlight the effect of ultrasonication on plant-based milk beverages taking into effect various properties of the beverage such as physical, functional, microbial and organoleptic properties of several non-dairy milk alternatives constituting of peanut, almond, soy, coconut milk, etc.