A study was conducted to develop good quality medium fat liquid dairy whitener from buffalo milk employing ultrafiltration (UF) process. The buffalo skim milk was UF concentrated to 4.05 to 4.18 (23.63 ± 0.30 % TS) fold and standardized to 10 % fat (on Dry Matter Basis) (i.e. formulation) and homogenized at 175.76 kg/cm(2). The addition of 0.4 % mixture of monosodium and disodium phosphate (2:1 w/w) improved the heat stability of homogenized formulation to an optimum of 66 min. The bland flavour of homogenized formulation with added 0.4 % mixture of monosodium phosphate and disodium phosphate (2:1 w/w) and 18 % sugar (on DMB) (i.e. medium fat liquid dairy whitener) was improved significantly (P < 0.01) with the addition of 0.2 % potassium chloride, but heat stability of medium fat liquid dairy whitener got reduced substantially (i.e. 19 min). With subsequent heat treatment to 85 °C for 5 min, heat stability of medium fat liquid dairy whitener got improved to reasonable level of 27 min. Whitening ability in terms of L* value of medium fat liquid dairy whitener in both tea and coffee was significantly (P < 0.01) better when homogenized at 175.76 kg/cm(2) vis-à-vis 140.61 kg/cm(2). Standardized medium fat liquid dairy whitener had significantly (P < 0.01) greater protein content (i.e. approximately 2.43 times) compared to market dairy whitener samples. At 2 % solids level, standardized medium fat liquid dairy whitener in tea/coffee fetched significantly (P < 0.01) better sensory attributes and instrumental whitening ability compared to market sample at 3 % solids level. There could be clear 33 % solids quantity saving in case of developed product compared to market dairy whitener sample.
Keywords: Buffalo milk; Dairy whitener; Heat stability; Sensory evaluation; Ultrafiltration; Whitening ability.