κ-Carrageenan gels were explored for improving the stability of ready-to-drink (RTD) mango juice.RTD mango juice with an acidity of 0.3% and a Brix of 18° was prepared. Two gels, bi-gel and hydrogel, were incorporated in RTD mango juice to study the effect of gel dosage, resting time, and homogenizing time on selected attributes (cloud and physical stability, and viscosity), determined using second-order Box-Behnken design, in combination with response surface methodology. The coefficient of determination values for all models was found to be higher than 90%. The fluid behavior of RTD mango juice after the addition of gels tends to fit Herschel-Bulkley's model. The behavior of RTD mango juice's fluid was found to change from shear thickening to shear thinning after the addition of gels. For hydrogel-based RTD mango juice, maximum cloud stability (3.012 abs), physical stability (66.49%) with minimum viscosity (4120 cP) resulted from optimized conditions of gel dosage (9 mL), resting time (1 h), and homogenizing time (33 s). For RTD mango juice, hydrogel can be preferred over bi-gel due to its melt-in-your-mouth sensation with high physical and cloud stability. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Ready-to-drink mango juice is consumed by a large number of people worldwide. However, an increase in the storage period causes coagulation of the pulp particles, resulting in undesired distinct layers of pulp and water content. In this study, κ-Carrageenan gels were added to RTD mango juices to avoid such separation and improve cloud and physical stability. The findings from this study might serve as a roadmap for developing high-quality, stable RTD products.
Keywords: Carrageenan; cloud stability; konjac glucomannan; ready-to-drink mango juice; viscosity.
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