Low-fat dairy products don't have desirable texture and sensory properties because of having low levels of fat. Pear powder can be used as a carbohydrate-based fat replacer for fortification and improving the texture of low-fat dairy products due to having a positive effect on texture improvement and desirable nutritional compounds such as pectin, lignans, phenolic compounds and dietary fiber. In this context, pear powder was added to milk (1.5% fat) at levels of 1, 2 and 3%. The experimental yogurts were compared with control yogurts produced from whole milk (3% of fat) and low-fat milk (1.5% of fat). The samples were stored for 15 days at 4 ± 1 °C and their physicochemical, texture and sensory properties were evaluated during storage. According to results, increasing the rate of pear powder in yogurt samples caused to a significant increase in acidity, viscosity, water-holding capacity and hardness and a significant decrease in pH and syneresis (p<0.05). In all samples, while acidity, viscosity, hardness and water-holding capacity increased significantly during storage, pH and syneresis decreased (p<0.05). The yogurt manufactured with 1% of pear powder received the highest overall acceptability scores among the yoghurts fortified with pear powder. In conclusion, using 1% of pear powder for manufacturing low-fat set-type yoghurt had the best results in terms of physicochemical, texture and sensory characteristics.

Keywords: Low-fat yogurt, pear powder, physicochemical properties, textural properties, sensory characteristics

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