Polyfunctional sugar-free white chocolate fortified with Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG co-encapsulated with beet residue extract (Beta vulgaris L.).

Chocolate is a worldwide consumed food. This study investigated the fortification of sugar-free white chocolate with Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG microcapsule co-encapsulated with beet residue extract. The chocolates were evaluated for moisture, water activity, texture, color properties, melting, physicochemical, and probiotic stability during storage. Furthermore, the survival of L. rhamnosus GG and the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds were investigated under in vitro simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Regarding the characterization of probiotic microcapsules, the encapsulation efficiency of L. rhamnosus GG was > 89 % while the encapsulation efficiency of phenolic compounds was > 62 %. Chocolates containing probiotic microcapsules were less hard and resistant to breakage. All chocolates had a similar melting behavior (endothermic peaks between 32.80 and 34.40 °C). After 120 days of storage at 4 °C, probiotic populations > 6.77 log CFU/g were detected in chocolate samples. This result demonstrates the potential of this matrix to carry L. rhamnosus GG cells. Regarding the resistance of probiotic strains during gastric simulation, the co-encapsulation of L. rhamnosus GG with beet extract contributed to high counts during gastrointestinal transit, reaching the colon (48 h) with viable cell counts equal to 11.80 log CFU/g. Finally, one of our main findings was that probiotics used phenolic compounds as a substrate source, which may be an observed prebiotic effect.

Mass transfer modeling during wet salting of caiman meat (Caiman crocodilus yacare) at different brine temperatures.

Caiman meat is considered exotic and its consumption has significantly increased due to its nutritional quality. This study aimed to evaluate the kinetics of water content (WC) and salt content (SC) at different temperatures (1, 5, 10 and 15 °C) and to evaluate the use of mathematical models to predict the mass transfer kinetics until equilibrium conditions during the wet salting of caiman tail fillets. Moisture and chloride analyses were performed throughout the wet salting process. Four models (Peleg; Weibull; Zugarramurdi and Lupín; Diffusion) were tested to predict WC and SC kinetics in caiman tail fillets subjected to wet salting. The increase in the temperature resulted in a reduction (P < 0.05) in WC and an increase (P < 0.05) in SC. Nonlinear effects on WC and SC kinetics were observed between the different temperatures evaluated. Furthermore, the effective diffusion coefficients (Dw and Ds) increased (P < 0.05) with increasing temperature. Peleg, Weibull, Zugarramurdi and Lupín, and the Diffusion model satisfactorily represented WC and SC rates throughout the process. The kinetic behavior of the parameters of the models corroborated the effects of temperature on those parameters. Peleg was the best model for predicting WC and SC kinetics, and Zugarramurdi and Lupín was the best for predicting the equilibrium conditions of the process (WC∞ SC∞), all parameters which can be used to describe the mass transfer kinetics during wet salting of caiman tail fillets.

Determination of the rheological behavior and thermophysical properties of malbec grape juice concentrates (Vitis vinifera).

The rheological behavior and thermophysical properties (density, specific heat, and thermal conductivity) were experimentally determined as function of temperature (1-66 °C) and solid soluble content (13.6-45.0°Brix) for Malbec grape juice aiming at designing the unit operations involved in beverage industries. Mathematical modeling was performed to provide valuable information about the rheological behavior and thermophysical properties of Malbec grape juice at different concentrations and temperatures. The Ostwald-de Waele model fitted the concentrates rheological behavior with high accuracy. The consistency coefficients were significantly reduced by the temperature increase, following an Arrhenius relationship with activation energy ranging from 11.02 kJ/mol (45.0 °Brix) to 11.54 kJ/mol (21.0 °Brix). In contrast, they were increased by the higher concentration levels, ranging from 0.2044 Pa.sn (13.6 °Brix, 6 °C) to 20.9451 Pa.sn (45.0 °Brix, 1 °C). The flow behavior index was not influenced by temperature; however, it was strictly related to the concentration, assuming shear-thinning behavior (0.96 < n < 0.54), regardless of the solid soluble contents. Density, specific heat, and thermal conductivity were significantly correlated with both the temperature and concentration parameters by second-order polynomial models. The obtained results can be suitable for the potential use of Malbec juice concentrate as a chaptalization agent in winemaking and grape juice production.