Producing reduced-fat whipping creams is technically challenging because lipids are essential to supporting the foam matrix. Through interactions with proteins and lipids, polyphenols could provide this necessary support. Whey, casein, and milk protein isolates were treated with green tea and grape seed extracts (GTE and GSE, respectively) and then tested for foaming, emulsifying, and gelling properties. Subsequently, reduced-fat cream mixtures were produced by replacing 0–30% cream with skim milk, treated with GTE or GSE, and analyzed for foaming properties. GTE and GSE increased the foamability of casein proteins by 2.3X and 2.0X, respectively, and whey protein foam stability nearly doubled with GTE treatment. Likewise, GTE and GSE increased the emulsion stability of milk protein isolate by 1.7–2.4X. GTE and GSE at 5% w/w increased the overrun of cream with 20% w/w skim milk replacement by 1.7X and 1.4X, respectively. Polyphenols can improve cream-foaming functionalities, which may allow for label-friendly, reduced-fat dairy products.
Budin et al. (Thu,) studied this question.