THE INFLUENCE OF NONFAT DRY MILK ON THE SENSORY PROPERTIES, VISCOSITY, AND COLOR OF LOW-FAT MILKS

Previous work demonstrated that an effective fat substitute for fat-fr ee milk should make the color of the milk whiter, less green, and less blue. This change corresponds to the L, a, and b values of 81, -3.7, and 2.9, respectively, for milk with 2% added fat, based on L, a, and b values of 74, -6.7, and 1.1 for skim milk. The first candidate for a fat replacer was NDM. Addition of NDM (0 to 2% solids) did not impart the same sensory or color characteristics (L, a, and b values of 75.6 , -6.5, and 1.9, respectively, for 2% NDM solids added to skim milk) a s fat. However, the effect of addition of 2% NDM on the objective meas ure of viscosity was very similar to addition of 2% fat. Our results s uggested that a fat substitute for fat-free milk needs to change the a ppearance attributes of the milk more than its tactile attributes and that addition of NDM alone is not an adequate fat substitute for use i n skim milk.