Project start: 01.12.2020
Project end: 31.05.2023
Sponsor: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

Stirred fruit yogurt is the most widely consumed dairy mix product in Germany and contains up to 17% sugar, of which 4-6% is the sugar lactose from milk. Previous research approaches pursued the possibility of reducing sugar by increasing the sweetness of naturally present sugars by using bi-enzymatic processes. As a result, for instance, the sweeter monosaccharides glucose and galactose were formed from the comparably poorly sweet disaccharide lactose and, thus, less sugar had to be added by recipe to achieve the same sweetness. Our new research approach now involves reducing the added sugar (fruit preparation, priority 1) as well as the naturally present lactose (yogurt, priority 2) and fructose (fruit puree, priority 3). The aim of the project is to develop practical, food-technological principles for the production of sufficiently sweet fruit yogurts with high sensory quality and acceptance and a reduced total sugar content from an average of 15 g/100 g to 6-9 g/100 g (corresponding to a reduction of 40-60 %).