THERMOSONICATION IN ORANGE WHEY DRINKS IMPROVES RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND THE VOLATILE PROFILE WHITOUT EFFECT ON COLOR PARAMENTERS

With the potential of emerging technologies, the application in dairy products has been highlighted. Thermosonication, a sonication combined with temperature, stands out among the technologies, as whey drinks show market potential and nutritional appeal. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of high-temperature short-time treatment (HTST, 90 °C/20 s) and thermosonication (TS) at temperatures of 70, 80, and 90 °C (TS70, TS80, and TS90) on orange juice whey drink processing (OJWD). Different formulations were subjected to sensory analysis, and an ideal concentration of 31% whey and 69% orange juice was defined. The defined formulation was evaluated for the rheological parameters, color parameters, thermal behavior (differential scanning calorimetry), time-domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD-NMR), and volatile compound profile. The HTST and TS processes resulted in higher shear stress/shear rate values than control sample (p < 0.05), suggesting a possible viscosity gain with the applied thermal treatments. The effect of viscosity gain was more prominent for the HTST formulation. Furthermore, it is possible to observe a loss of consistency for TS with increased temperature The TD-NMR results corroborated the rheology, indicating lower viscosities and greater homogeneity in the TS90 sample. Regarding the color parameters, no significant differences were identified between the samples. Thermal behavior pointed out that the crystallization and melting behaviors of the control sampleTdiffered from the others. Up to 23 volatile compounds were identified in the samples, most of them related to the orange juice flavor. Compounds related to the Maillard reaction were not verified. The HTST sample was the only one to present butanoic acid, which is associated with rancid and burnt notes in orange juice. Thus, the best results related to the rheological profile and the volatile profile, when compared to the HTST treatment, indicate the good applicability of thermosonication in OJWD.