Interactions between κ-carrageenan, milk proteins and modified starch in sterilized dairy desserts

Sterilized dairy desserts were prepared using five ingredients: κ-carrageenan, skimmed milk powder, adipate cross-linked acetyl substituted waxy maize starch, sucrose and water. An experimental mixture design was used to study the influence of varying concentrations of carrageenan, milk powder and starch on the dessert properties, while the sucrose and water content was kept constant. Starch was shown to have a larger influence on the complex modulus, while milk powder contributed more to the gel strength of the desserts, determined by a penetration test. Also, increasing amounts of carrageenan and starch led to a decrease in the occurrence of syneresis. Results seem to suggest that the interaction between casein and carrageenan, that is well described for model systems, also takes place in sterilized dairy desserts and that the rheological properties are importantly affected by the exclusion effect of starch.