The use of seedless grape varieties for developing dairy-free creams

Abstract

The demand for use of natural fruit-based raw material for the manufacture of non-dairy desserts has significantly grown over the past decennium due to the increased number of people suffering from lactose intolerance, allergy to milk proteins and obesity. This study investigated the main physicochemical and rheological properties of non-dairy creams prepared from white and black seedless grape varieties, sunflower oil and stabilizers (inulin and xanthan gum) without added sugar. Generally, all cream samples showed a slight decrease in total polyphenols and antioxidant activity after processing, as compared to the reference raw material (fresh grapes). The Bingham, Casson and Herschel-Bulkley rheological models were used to predict the flow behavior of the developed creams. From the performance data analysis, it was found that only the HerschelBulkley model has been adequately fitted to the shear stress-shear rate data of all cream samples, resulting in the lower mean absolute error (MAE) and the strong correlations (R > 0.8) with a significant evidence (p < 0.05). The study also revealed that creams prepared with higher percentage of fruit part (grape puree >80%) and lower oil content (<15%) recorded higher yield stress values (>100 Pa) and were more viscous than the rest of the samples.