Chemometric approach to texture profile analysis of kombucha fermented milk products.

In the present work, relationships between the textural characteristics of fermented milk products obtained by kombucha inoculums with various teas were investigated by using chemometric analysis. The presented data which describe numerically the textural characteristics (firmness, consistency, cohesiveness and index of viscosity) were analysed. The quadratic correlation was determined between the textural characteristics of fermented milk products obtained at fermentation temperatures of 40 and 43 °C, using milk with 0.8, 1.6 and 2.8% milk fat and kombucha inoculums cultivated on the extracts of peppermint, stinging nettle, wild thyme and winter savory. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was performed to identify the similarities among the fermented products. The best mathematical models predicting the textural characteristics of investigated samples were developed. The results of this study indicate that textural characteristics of sample based on winter savory have a significant effect on textural characteristics of samples based on peppermint, stinging nettle and wild thyme, which can be very useful in the determination of products texture profile.