Supplementation of drinkable yogurt (Laban) from Camel milk with fruit purees improves its quality and sensory properties

Background: Camel milk (CM) and its fermentation products have acclaimed nutritional and health benefits, although they are often associated with low marketability because of a unique flavor, which is unpleasant to certain consumers. Incorporating fruit purees is an attractive method of adding a pleasant taste and masking the undesirable flavor in such dairy products. Methods: We investigated the effects of supplementing plain fermented CM laban with pectin (0.2%) and a fruit puree (apricot, blueberry, mango, peach, pineapple, or strawberry) of varying concentrations (0%, 5%, 15%, and 25%) on the products' physicochemical, rheological, antioxidant, and sensory properties. The labans were analyzed for dry matter content, color (L*, a*, b*), pH, titratable acidity, and rheology. Total phenolic content and antioxidant property were determined using Folin–Ciocalteu and ABTS methods and sensory profile was studied using quantitative descriptive analysis. Results and discussion: The labans fortified with 15% and 25% purees had higher dry matter content than the control samples. Addition of fruit purees darkened the color of the laban samples and lowered the L* value but did not affect their titratable acidity, except for the apricot puree. Labans containing blueberry, pineapple, and strawberry purees had higher whey-off than those containing peach, apricot, mango, or the control samples. The storage and loss moduli, and viscosity values of laban samples supplemented with peach or pineapple puree (at 15% and 25%, and at 25%, respectively) were increased compared to the other samples. The power law model sufficiently explained the flow of all labans, indicating a shear-thinning behavior. The addition of purees increased the total phenolic content and antioxidant activities of all labans, while peach puree in particular, improved the sensory quality of the CM laban, owing to its high fiber and protein content and low total soluble solids. Conclusion: A 25% peach puree significantly improved all sensory properties of CM labans.