Impact of different cooling times during post-maturation on physicochemical and texture properties of fermented egg-milk beverage

The post-maturation of fermented beverages is extremely vital because it could influence the products' quality and bioactive ingredients. This work aimed to obtain fermented egg-milk beverage (FEMB) and investigate the impact of different cooling times during post-maturation on physicochemical and texture properties. Herein, chemical analyzing methods such as acidity titration, texture and water holding capacity determination, microbiological analysis, and light microscopy were utilized to explore the properties of FEMB samples with different cooling times. Besides, the functional antioxidant properties were considered in this part. The results revealed that with the extension of cooling time (1–7 h), the acidity rose from 64.00 ± 1.00 °T to 82.00 ± 2.08 °T (increased by 28.12%), and the water holding rate decreased from 85.67% ± 1.28%–76.98% ± 0.13%. The number of lactic acid bacteria colonies increased to 52.00 ± 4.58 × 107 CFU/mL first and then decreased to 23.30 ± 2.51 × 107 CFU/mL. With the prolong of the cooling time, the antioxidant capacity was increased. The results of light microscopy proved that protein aggregation is one of the reasons for the sticky texture. Combined with the cooling time and fermented beverage properties, this paper better understands the physicochemical and texture properties of FEMB in the period of post-maturation, which could provide a new perspective for fermented beverages processing.