Effects of Desalting and Defatting on the Gelling and Foaming Properties of Whey Protein

Abstract

In our previous paper, we showed that desalting improves heat stability of whey protein concentrate (WPC) effectively and defatting reduces it at pH 5-6, the range of isoelectric points of major whey proteins, or under high ionic strength. When WPCs are used as food ingredients, it is very important to evaluate their functional properties, such as gelation and foaming, as well as solubility and heat stability. We studied the effects of desalting and defatting on gelling and foaming propeties with some WPCs in this report. Partially defatted WPC (MF-WPC) prepared with microfiltration (MF) formed harder gel than normal WPC with or without the addition of NaCl by heating. However, its gel prepared with CaCl2 had rougher gel matrix and its cohesiveness was reduced. Water holding capacity of heat-induced WPC gels increased by desalting. Defatting was more effective to improve the foaming property of WPC than desalting.