ABSTRACT Stirred‐type yoghurts produced from lactose‐hydrolyzed milk represent a promising base for developing functional dairy products enriched with fruits and spices, as such formulations can enhance nutritional, sensory, and antioxidant properties while offering naturally sweetened alternatives without added sugars. Despite this potential, the incorporation of wild fruits with high bioactive potential into lactose‐free yoghurt systems presents both technological and sensory challenges, particularly regarding texture stability, color development, and consumer acceptance. This study evaluated the effects of enriching stirred‐type yoghurts produced from lactose‐hydrolyzed milk with varying levels of hawthorn fruit puree (5%, 10%, and 15%) and turmeric powder (0.1%) on their physicochemical, rheological, sensory properties, and antioxidant activities. Yoghurt samples were stored for 21 days under refrigerated conditions, and analyses were conducted at 7‐day intervals throughout storage. Yoghurts were formulated with increasing concentrations of hawthorn fruit puree and turmeric powder, and physicochemical parameters, water‐holding capacity, rheological and textural properties, antioxidant activities (DPPH and ABTS), color (hue angle), and sensory acceptance were assessed across treatments (YH5, YH10, YH15). Increasing amounts of hawthorn fruit puree significantly improved water‐holding capacity, while textural and rheological analyses indicated that the 10% level exhibited improved rheological behavior, particularly in viscosity, and maintained comparable gel structure during storage. Antioxidant capacities ranged from 58.9%–83.9% for DPPH and 3.12–5.89 mg TE/g for ABTS. YH5 exhibited the highest ABTS activity ( p 0.05). Hue angle values remained relatively stable during storage, with only minor fluctuations observed in some samples, indicating that the characteristic color tones associated with turmeric powder addition were largely preserved throughout the storage period. Sensory evaluations revealed that the YH10 sample was the most preferred by panelists. Overall, these findings highlight the potential of producing fruit‐ and spice‐enriched functional fermented dairy products from lactose‐hydrolyzed milk without added sugars, offering both nutritional and sensory benefits.
Fidan et al. (Wed,) studied this question.