There are more and more opportunities for plant-based yogurt products, but are you ready to take the right steps? In the factory yogurt production line, you may be surprised because many of your dairy yogurt technologies need to be reconsidered. Similarly, even if you have experience in producing plant drinks, fermentation will add a lot of processing complexity.

Because the chemical composition of plant protein is different from that of dairy protein, there are many things to learn. This paper describes the processing and technical challenges of yogurt production line, and shows you how to change your idea from design to formula to finished product.

We introduced the main steps of producing yogurt products with plant raw materials, and introduced three common raw materials in detail: oats, soybeans and almonds. Because of the different levels of carbohydrates and proteins, we need to explain these procedures. Many of the same principles can be extended to other grains and nuts.

Once the foundation is ready and the formula is selected, the key to product success lies in meeting three challenges:

Optimize the quality characteristics of viscosity, texture, taste and appearance by adding components that supplement the weak network 

construction ability of plant proteins

Optimize heat treatment to ensure food safety and quality
Optimize the fermentation medium and fermentation time.
There are also special requirements for mixing techniques and mixing procedures, such as temperature and time involving additional components.

Heat treatment strongly depends on the formulation, especially the type of starch and any other thickener and stabilizer. Some thickeners cannot withstand high temperatures, while others require a long holding time to be activated. In addition, a longer fermentation time may require a higher initial heat treatment.

Many steps after fermentation are also essential to maintain product safety and quality. Some starches and other thickeners do not produce viscosity until they are cooled after fermentation. In these cases, the viscosity is designed to form in the package.

There are still many technologies and key points to pay attention to in the use of yogurt production line, which will be introduced one by one in future articles.