FUNCTIONAL DAIRY PRODUCTS WITH VEGETABLE FIBER

Abstract

Functional foods continue to grow in popularity as consumers increasingly seek food that not only satisfies, but also brings additional health benefits. Such foods are enriched with special ingredients that can positively affect a person's well-being, improve immunity, cognitive function, or digestion. At the same time, functional foods must fully comply with the established organoleptic, general hygiene, technological and toxicological standards. Vegetable fiber is one of the ingredients used to enrich foods. Regular consumption of foods enriched with natural plant fibers helps to lower blood cholesterol levels, reduce body weight, and normalize the absorption of essential nutrients. Milk and dairy products are indispensable in people's diets due to their nutritional value. At the same time, the wide range of dairy products and the level of consumption make them attractive for creating innovative functional and health products. Given the numerous beneficial properties of kefir, the study examined the possibility of making kefir using the Vivo Kefir dry bacterial starter enriched with vegetable fiber from sesame seeds, hemp seeds, and rye bran. These ingredients are recommended to be added as a source of insoluble dietary fiber, amino acids, proteins, vitamins, micro- and macronutrients. The organoleptic characteristics of the obtained fermented milk products were determined. The most pronounced taste of dietary fiber and the densest consistency were found in samples of kefir with vegetable fiber from sesame seeds. Samples with fiber from hemp seeds had the most intense sour flavor, although the taste of the product was pleasant and not too sour. In general, it is shown that the samples of kefirs with dietary fiber meet the requirements of regulatory documents in terms of odor, consistency and taste.