Abstract
Blending is a promising strategy during the partial replacement of plant
with animal proteins. This, however, may lead to alteration in the
technofunctional properties of the resultant blends. In this study, soy,
rice and pea protein concentrates (SPC, RPC and PPC, respectively) were
blended with milk protein concentrate (MPC) at different ratios: 25:75,
50:50 and 25:75 and the technofunctional properties relevant to their
emulsification behaviour, e.g., emulsion stability, viscosity and water
and oil binding capacity, were investigated. At equivalent
concentrations, the plant protein concentrates had higher apparent
viscosities compared to MPC and the blends. RPC-MPC, at all ratios, had
a lower oil binding capacity when compared with the SPC-MPC and PPC-MPC
blends. Plant protein-MPC blends showed higher emulsion stability
compared to the individual plant protein concentrates. Blending MPC with
plant protein concentrates resulted in promising improvements in
emulsification behaviour of relevance to different composite protein
ingredient applications.