Pakistan J. Agric. Res., Vol. 3, No.

2, 1982

STORAGE AND FLAVOUR STABILITY OF SOY-MILK

Ali Gauhar, Fazli Rahim and Fazli Karim Khan*

ABSTRACT:_ To atneliorate the intensity of protein-calorie malnutrition in developing countries,

there is a continuous search for new and cheaper sources of protein. Vegetable milk especially soybean milk
has made remarkable contribution to overcome this problem. Soy-milk is especially useful for the
people having lactose intolerance and is a good dietary supplement particularly for children. Storage
life of soy-milk and curd is very short as compared with cow's milk and, therefore, are prepared fresh
each day. Because of the lack of refrigeration facilities in developing countries, the use of pasteurised fluid
soy -milk cannot be recommended due to its unstable nature. Beany flavour of soy -milk also has
restricted its acceptance and consumption amongst low-income classes who cannot afford the high-priced
animal milk. The current study was, therefore, designed to prepare fluid soy -milk having a longer
shelf-life and which should also fulfill the nutritional anti ,ulituRry needs of the people.

INTRODUCTION other nutrients at a little additional cost just

A lot of work is going on in different
countries on the storage behaviour and
elimination of the undesirable beany flavour
of soy-milk. It has been recommended that if
vegetable milk substitutes are to be used as
pasteurised fluid milk, they should be stored,
from processing to consumption, at refrigera-
ting temperatures (4-6°C) and be used with
in
72 hours after pasteurization (P.A.G.,
1973). Mustakas et al. (1971) reported that a
continuing research effort is being made to
improire protein beverages based on soybean
milk. The search is for a product that is
acceptable to the tastes of diverse cultures
besides being stable. According to Dimler
(1969) heating removes much of the typical
beany flavour but the product still may have a
trace of bitter taste. De (1971) reported that
populations accustomed to the taste of cow's
milk do not relish the taste of soy-milk. How-
ever Altschul (1967) emphasized the use of
imitation milk beverages because they may be
the easiest to produce in the most acceptable
form, besides being a useful food for the
infants. In another study Altschul (1969)
proved good prospects for a new class of
refreshing beverages, providing protein and
* Agricultural Research Institute, Tarnab,
Peshawar.
like 'Vita Soy' in Hong Kong and 'Saci' in
Brazil. Kosikowski (1971), while conducting
the organoleptic evaluation, found that the
appearance of most non-dairy imitation milks
resembled fresh pasteurised cow's milk, but
the flavour ascertained by the milk judges was
neither similar nor acceptable to them.
Several imitation milks scored in flavour
slightly better than cow's milk, reconstituted
from whole milk powder, but in all these
formulations including reconstituted cow's
milk, the flavour quality was only fair. Miller
(1965) recommended that soy -milk should be
made as ready-to-drink beverage for
improved and sustained nutrition at afford-
able prices.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Unlike the Western World, where soy-
milk is usually prepared by dispersing in water
a mixture of soy-flour, vitamins, minerals and
carbohydrates, oriental preparation technique
was used in this study. Dried soybeans were
soaked in water for about 16 hours and then,
after removing the water, the beans were
passed through mincing machine several
times, gradually adding water until a uniform
suspension of ground soybeans was obtained.
The resultant suspension was boiled well and
then passed twice through a double-fold

129
 A. GAUHAR ET AL,
muslin cloth. The brix degree of half of this
milk was raised to 10 and that of the other
half to 15 with sugar. These two lots were
again divided into two portions for the
addition of anticurdling salt (sodium phos-
phate dibasic) at the rates of 0.1 and 0.05
percent. A vitamin mixture containing
vitamin A (1833 I.U.), vitamin D (458 I.U),
Thiamine (458 µg), Riboflavin (916 µg), and
Ascorbic acid (55 mg) per kilogram of milk
was added to each treatment. Chromium-
enamelled cans of 21/2 A size were filled with
the milk which were then passed through the
exhaust line and sealed after the central can
temperature reached 87.7°C. Processing was
done for 30 minutes at 115.5° C. The cans,
after cooling in a tank of water, were stored
at room temperature as well as in the refrige-
rator and were subjected to organoleptic
evaluation after every three months. Samples
were presented to a five-member taste panel
and rated for colour, flavour and body of
milk (consistency), using the ten-point scale
as follows: 10 points for excellent; 9 for very
good; 8 for good; 7-6 for less desirable; 5-4
for objectionable; 3-2 for unpleasant and 1
for repulsive.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Chemical analysis of soy-milk samples
was done for major constituents excluding
vitamins and minerals, etc. Analysis of data
revealed that moisture was 88 percent; fat,
2.9 percent, non-fat solids, 9.1 percent; and
protein, 3.4 percent in milk where brix degree
was adjusted to 10 with cane sugar while
samples having 15°brix contianed 84.1 per-
cent moisture, 2.8 percent fat, 13.1 percent
non-fat solids and 3.0 percent protein. In the
latter case deviation from the recommended
(De, 1971) levels of constituents was
considerable, mostly because of sugar
addition. Unlike other beverages highly sweet-
ened dairy and non-dairy imitation milks are
generally not liked.
130
As regards the effect of anticurdling salts,
no significant difference was detected among
different treatments of soy-milk, at both
storage temperatures. So, the data on treat-
ments of anticurdling salt have not been
recorded. Both the doses of 0.1 and 0.05
percent were equally effective against curdling
at room temperature and at 4.4°C. Its use
may be restricted to 0.05 percent for the sake
of economy.
Physical characteristics of soy-milk in
relation to storage period are given in the
table. The results indicate that the prefer-
ence of milk colour diminished with the
passage of time, irrespective of the sugar
contents. However, the intensity of colour
change was more severe in treatments with
15° brix. A comparison of the colour values
in the table reveals that the colour change
followed more or less the same trend regard-
less of the storage temperature. There was no
change in colour after 270 days of storage in
samples having 10° brix at both the storage
temperatures. At room temperature in case
of 15° brix the score for colour was slightly
lower after 270 days of storage than the milk
stored at 4.4°C.
In low-sugar (10° brix) soy-milk
trend of change in flavour was identical in
both the storage temperatures. But the
situation regarding highly sweetened milk
(15° brix) was slightly different. The differ-
ence remained upto 90 days of storage but
levelled off after 183 days at both the
temperatures. Mild change in flavour values
occurred in both the cases but it was more so
at 4.4°C.
Body of milk remained fairly constant
upto 183 days of storage when the product
was kept at room temperature but it changed
considerably after 90 days of storage in milk
samples stored at 4.4°C. This change was due
to the condensation of fat particles and not
curdling. After 183 days of storage constant
 Y OF SOY-MILK
STORAGE AND FLAVOUR STABILIT

Effect of storage on the preference factors of soy-milk

10° brix at 10° brix at 4.4°C 15° brix at 15° brix at 4.4°C
room temperature room temperature
Storage
period Colour Flavour Body Colour Flavour Body Colour Flavour Body Colour Flavour Body
(days)

0 8.5 8.0 8.0 8.5 8.0 8.0 7.5 7.5 8.0 8.0 7.5 8.0

90 8.5 8.0 8.0 8.5 8.0 8.0 7.5 7.0 8.0 7.5 7.5 8.0

183 8.0 7.5 8.0 8.0 7.5 7.0 7.0 7.0 8.0 7.2 7.0 7.0

270 7.5 7.0 7.5 7.5 7.0 6.5 6.5 6.7 7.3 7.0 6.8 6.8

364 7.5 6.5 6.5 7.5 6.5 6.5 6.0 6.2 7.0 7.0 6.0 6.5

change occurred in the body of milk
throughout the observational period when
stored at room temperature. But this change
remained constant after 270 days of storage
in the sample having 10° brix. The trend of
change at room temperature for both low and
high sugared milk was the same upto 270 days
of storage. Thereafter the change for high
sugared samples was comparatively less. Upto
183 days of storage the change in the body of
milk was similar, irrespective of their sugar
contents After this period the sample having
15° brix showed less change but at the end of
the year the soy-milk samples acquired the
same position concerning the body stability at
both the storage temperatures.
It may, therefore, be concluded that
treatment of milk containing less sugar were
found to have higher preference for taste and
flavour than highly sweetened milk samples,
regardless of the storage temperatures More-
over, the minimum use of anticurdling salt
capable of effectively preventing curdling
throughout the storage period, may be
recommended for economising the cost of
soy-milk within the safest toxicological
limits and without any risk of impairing the
consistency of milk.
LITERATURE CITED
1. Altschul, A. M. 1967. The agricultural,
scientific and economic basis for low-
cost protein foods. Paper presented at
the Int. Conf. on Single Cell Protein.
Maschusettes Institute of Technology,
October 9, 1967.
2. Altschul, A. M. 1969. Towards the
elimination of hunger and malnutrition:
The interface between government and
technology. Paper presented at the 29th
annual meeting of the Institute of Food
Technologists. May 12, 1969. Chicago.
3. De, S.S. 1971. Technology of produc-
tion of edible flours and protein pro-
ducts from soybean. Agricultural Services
Bull. No. II, F.A.O, Rome.
4. Dimler, R. J. 1969. Oilseed proteins.
Chem. Eng. Progress 65: 20-26 .
5. Kosikowski, F.V. 1971. Nutritive and
organoleptic characteristics of non-dairy

131
 A. GAUHAR ET AL
imitation milk. J. Food Sci. 36. 1025.
6. Miller, H.W. 1965. Meeting the world's
nutritional needs with soy-milk. Soy-
bean Digest 25:91.
7. Mustakas, G.C.; Albrecht, W.J.; Walter,
G.N.; Johns, V.E. and Griffin, E.L. (Jr).
1971. New process for low-cost high-
protein hpverage base. Food Tech. 25:
132
80-86.
8. P.A.G. 1973. The preparation of milk
substitutes of vegetable and toned milk
containing vegetable protein. Bull. No. III
p. 14-18.
9. Smith, A.K. 1971. Oriental methods of
using soybean as food. United States
Department of Agriculture, ARS 71.