Some love them, others hate them. Goat's milk products divide society into two camps thanks to their distinctive taste and smell. 

Milk is rightly considered one of the basic components of food. Currently, the consumption of milk (not only cow's milk) and dairy products in the Czech Republic is increasing year by year. In 2019, people consumed on average 249 kg of milk per person. Production goat's milk occupies approximately 2,4 % of the world's total milk production. Goat's milk is also characterised by its high biological value. It is characterised by its high protein, fatty acid and vitamin content. It is the short- and medium-chain fatty acids that are largely responsible for characteristic aroma and taste goat's milk, which are not, however, well received by all consumers.  

We would like to present a recent study that focuses on the assessment of important sensory descriptors such as colour, taste, aroma, consistency and creaminess in goat's milk yoghurt with the addition of additives such as almond flour, inulin or whey protein. This work was carried out in collaboration with Dr. Legar from FAPPZ, which has long been involved in dairy research, and Italian colleagues from Università degli studi di Catania and was published in the prestigious journal LWT - Food Science and Technology.   

The study shows that the possible addition of additives during the production of yoghurt significantly affects the sensory properties and subsequent consumer preferences for the final product. Sensory analyses were carried out in fully equipped laboratories by two groups of trained assessors (both Czech and Italian). Changes in the number of lactic acid bacteria were also monitored in the prepared goat yoghurt samples, specifically lactobacilli a Streptococcus.  

Sour dairy products, with yoghurt being the main representative of this category, are a popular food worldwide. An interesting result of the study was that the addition of almond flour had a rather negative effect as it did not reduce the unwanted goat odour as expected. While the samples with the addition of almond flour and whey protein at the same time there has been Reduce intensity of almond aroma and flavour, as well as undesirable goat flavour. These samples showed a positive effect on consistency and improved creaminess, whereas the addition of additives had no statistically significant effect on the numbers of microorganisms observed.