Physicochemical properties of whey protein conjugated with starch hydrolysis products of different dextrose equivalent values

Conjugation of whey protein with maltodextrin (MD) or corn syrup solids (CSS) having dextrose equivalent (DE) values in the range 6–38 was achieved by heating solutions of 5% whey protein isolate and 5% MD or CSS, initial pH 8.2, at 90 °C for up to 24 h. Maximum conjugation, with production of limited colour and advanced Maillard products was achieved after 8 h of heating. The extent of conjugation increased with increasing DE value of the MD and CSS ingredients. Conjugation increased whey protein solubility at pH 4.5 from 9% for whey protein heated alone to 24% for whey protein heated in the presence of CSS38 at 90 °C for 8 h. Conjugation of whey proteins with MD6 or CSS38 enhanced the stability to heating of protein solutions at 85 °C for 3 min with 50 mm added NaCl.