Acid induced gelation of soymilk, comparison between gels prepared with lactic acid bacteria and glucono-δ-lactone

The objective of this work was to compare the gelation of soymilk particles induced by the acidification of a commercial starter culture with that resulting by addition of glucono-δ-lactone (GDL). Structure formation was followed using rheology, and the microstructure was observed by confocal microscopy. Acidification of lactic acid bacteria resulted in a higher gelation pH (pH 6.29 ± 0.05) compared to that of a gel induced by GDL (pH 5.9 ± 0.04). This difference was attributed to the longer time available for rearrangements of the soymilk particles in soymilk with starter cultures compared to the fast acidification by GDL. In spite of the earlier gelation pH, there were no observed differences in the final gel stiffness measured at pH 5.1, the value of tan δ, the frequency dependence and the linear viscoelastic range of the gels measured at the final pH. Microstructural observations also showed a similar protein network structure.