Development of effervescent almond beverages infused with nitros oxide
Ten commercialized plant-based beverage bases were infused with nitrous oxide (N2O) at 20 psi inside the kegs and filled into beer bottles to evaluate their quality properties to select bases to be further developed. pH, Brix, water activity, viscosity, particle size, color, pressure of the filled containers, foaming properties, and informal tasting data were collected. The chosen base was Almond Breeze® Unsweetened Vanilla Almondmilk based on its foaming properties and emulsion stability. Three treatments of the chosen base were infused with N2O at 20 psi and filled into double-seam aluminum cans: dilution with 25% DI water, addition of 0.0586% gellan gum, and standard almond beverage. pH, Brix, viscosity, pressure of the filled containers, and foaming properties data were collected. The standard almond beverage had the best result with 34% of foam expansion and 23% of foam stability. Decreasing the solids concentration and increasing the gum percentage did not improve foam stability while the foamy mouthfeel was weaker than expected.