17C-2 |
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J. E. BOCK, Department of Grain Science and Industry, Kansas State University, 201 Shellenberger Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506 and K. A. Schmidt, Food Science Institute, Kansas State University, Call Hall 224, Manhattan, KS 66506. Vegetarian market sectors have been experiencing substantial growth during the past five years due to a movement towards healthy lifestyles. The trend has crossed over to the beverage market with the introduction of soya and functional beverages to enhance health. This trend, along with consumers suffering from dairy allergies, has created an area for new product development for non-dairy beverages. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the feasibility of incorporating wheat gluten into a beverage system. Three modified wheat protein powders were compared to a whey protein concentrate (WPC) as dispersions that had protein concentrations of 2%. Solubility and water holding capacity were measured as outlined in published standard procedures with slight modifications. A two factor factorial design was used with a significance level set at p=0.05. All protein dispersions demonstrated greater solubility at native pH as compared to pH 4 or 7. Dispersions showed slight losses in solubility at pH 7 as opposed to native pH. As the three wheat protein dispersions neared their isoelectric point at pH 4, greater losses (90-91%) of solubility were observed when compared to native pH. However, the WPC dispersion only showed a 12% solubility loss. When solubility was measured after a centrifugation treatment (20,000 x g for 30 min), all protein dispersions showed decreased solubility (6 – 10%) as compared to the un-centrifuged dispersions. Results from the water holding capacity assay revealed that two wheat proteins had significantly more (52%) water holding capacity than did the other wheat protein or WPC. Based on these results, a wheat protein based beverage is feasible, provided the beverage is close to the native pH. For an acidic beverage, further protein modifications or formula adjustments would be necessary.
Session 17C, Food Chemistry: Cereals, grains, legumes and their products
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