Studies on blending of different levels of chia seeds (Salavia hispanica) on the sensory evaluation and cost structure of cow milk lassi

Introduction

Lassi is a popular traditional fermented milk beverage in India, commonly prepared from curd or yoghurt by adding water, sugar and other ingredients. Fermentation gives lassi its characteristic flavour and improves its acceptability as a dairy beverage. Nowadays, consumers are increasingly interested in nutritious and functional foods. Chia seed (Salvia hispanica L.) is gaining attention because it contains protein, dietary fibre and polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly α-linolenic acid. Its ability to form a gel and provide thickening and stabilizing properties makes it useful for incorporation into different food products. Several researchers have studied the use of chia in dairy products. Nakov et al. (2024) [19] reported the effect of chia seed fortification on the quality of yoghurt, while Shelkande et al. studied the incorporation of encapsulated chia seed oil in shrikhand. These studies indicate that chia incorporation can influence the nutritional, physico-chemical and sensory characteristics of dairy products. Therefore, incorporation of chia seeds into lassi provides an opportunity to develop a value-added dairy beverage while studying the effect of different incorporation levels on sensory quality, physico-chemical characteristics and production cost.

Materials and Methods

Materials

Fresh cow milk was obtained from the Dairy Unit, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Science, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, and standardized at a 4 per cent fat level. High-quality chia seeds and clean commercial-grade cane sugar were sourced from the local market.

Methods

Lassi was prepared using standardized milk (4% fat) heated to 80-90 °C for 5 minutes and cooled to room temperature (25-30 °C). The milk was incubated by adding a 1% starter culture (Streptococcus lactis). The set curd coagulum was broken, and potable water and sugar were added at 10% each respectively. Chia seeds were blended into the mixture as per the specific treatment level.

Methods

Lassi was prepared following the method described by Tambe (2017) with slight modification.

Sensory Evaluation of Lassi Blended with Chia Seeds

The acceptability of the lassi blended with chia seeds was measured in terms of sensory attributes (flavour, body and texture, colour and appearance, and overall acceptability) by a panel of judges using a "9-point Hedonic scale".

Statistical Analysis

The data obtained in the present investigation were tabulated and analyzed statistically using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD).

Results and Discussion

The acceptability of the control and experimental lassi was measured in terms of sensory attributes using a 9-point hedonic scale by a panel of semi-trained judges. The results obtained were tabulated, statistically analyzed, and presented in Table 1 Flavour Acceptability The mean flavour scores were 7.56, 7.66, 7.73, 8.17, and 7.79 for lassi prepared under T 1 , T 2 , T 3 , T 4 , and T 5 treatments respectively. The highest score obtained for flavour was treatment T 4 (8.17) containing 3 per cent chia seeds, while the lowest score was obtained for the control treatment T 1 (7.56).

Colour and Appearance Acceptability

The colour and appearance score of lassi was significantly affected due to the addition of different levels of chia seeds. The scores were T 1 (7.54), T 2 (7.67), T 3 (7.75), T 4 (8.17), and T 5 (7.78). The highest score (8.17) was obtained by lassi prepared with 3 per cent chia seeds. An increase in chia seeds resulted in better colour and appearance up to a certain limit and thereafter it decreased.

Body and Texture Acceptability

The body and texture scores were 7.17, 7.43, 7.61, 8.13, and 7.71 for lassi prepared under T 1 , T 2 , T 3 , T 4 , and T 5 treatments respectively. The highest score for body and texture was recorded for treatment T 4 (8.13), whereas the lowest score was recorded for treatment T 1 (7.17). Treatment T 4 was significantly superior to all treatments.

Overall Acceptability

The mean scores for overall acceptability for T 1 , T 2 , T 3 , T 4 , and T 5 treatments were 7.42, 7.58, 7.70, 8.17, and 7.77 respectively. The highest score for overall acceptability was recorded for treatment T 4 (8.17) because it got maximum scores in flavour, colour and appearance, and body and texture.

Cost Structure

The cost of production increased progressively with increasing chia seed incorporation. The calculated costs were Rs. 79.96, 80.65, 81.33, 82.00 and 82.65 per kg for T₁, T₂, T₃, T₄ and T₅, respectively. The cost calculation used cow milk at Rs. 60 kg⁻¹, sugar at Rs. 56 kg⁻¹ and chia seeds at Rs. 150 kg⁻¹. The cost structure also included miscellaneous expenses such as electricity, labour and gas.

Conclusion

The present investigation demonstrated that incorporation of chia seeds influenced the sensory and physico-chemical characteristics of cow milk lassi. Among the five treatments, the sensory scores increased up to the 3 per cent chia seed level and subsequently decreased at 4 per cent. Treatment T₄ containing 3 per cent chia seeds recorded flavour, colour and appearance, body and texture, and overall acceptability scores of 8.17, 8.17, 8.13 and 8.17, respectively. Increasing chia seed incorporation was associated with increased fat, protein, total solids, pH and ash, while moisture and titratable acidity decreased. Fat increased from 3.50 to 4.58 per cent and protein from 2.45 to 2.98 per cent across T₁ to T₅.

The production cost increased from Rs. 79.96 kg⁻¹ for the control to Rs. 82.65 kg⁻¹ for the 4 per cent chia seed treatment. The cost associated with T₄ was Rs. 82.00 kg⁻¹. Under the experimental conditions reported in this study, the 3 per cent chia seed treatment (T₄) showed the highest recorded sensory scores and was identified in the thesis as the suitable level for preparation of chia seed-blended cow milk lassi.

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementNot available

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