Development of Improved Quality Yogurt in terms of Texture, Flavor, Food Value and Low Cost

The present study is concerned with how to develop improved quality yogurt in terms of texture, flavor, food value and low cost. Natural flora and traditional flavor in yogurt of indigenous varieties have been continuously changing due to the introduction of imported commercial starter cultures. Because of the necessity to preserve our natural starter cultures and to increase the availability of them for industrial use, these cultures must be isolated from artisanal yogurts, genetically characterized and investigated regarding their desirable properties for commercial use in yogurt production. The aim of this project was to select and isolate the better strains of Lactobacillus (starters) from the locally available yogurt (both branded and non-branded) found in Dhaka, Bangladesh to optimize the yogurt production with an improved quality. Total of 19 different yogurt samples were purchased from different places for this study. Each isolated organism was used individually to produce yogurt and later better starter cultures were selected and combined to find any new or improved quality yogurt. Changes of pH and total titratable acidity were monitored and the viability of probiotic bacteria was evaluated during and after refrigerated storage. One of the most important sensorial attributes for yogurt is texture, which was assessed by sensory analysis. Therefore, chemical, physical, microbial and organoleptic analyses for samples were conducted at predetermined days. It was found yogurt isolates have potential to be used in dairy industry in terms of their high technological and organoleptic characteristics.