Milk Kefir and Water Kefir Production Using Loquat at Different Extent of Maturity

Manolya Eser Öner; Sema Karamanoğlu

doi:10.18016/ksutarimdoga.vi.1770938

EN TR

Milk Kefir and Water Kefir Production Using Loquat at Different Extent of Maturity

Abstract

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica L.) is a subtropical fruit with a short shelf life after harvest. Transforming loquat into high-quality and long shelf-life products is essential to increase the consumption of the fruit. In this study, milk kefir and water kefir samples were produced with unripe green (G), semi-ripe yellow (Y), and ripe orange (O) loquat. The quality of samples was evaluated in terms of pH, Brix, color, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant capacity (AOC) during the storage at 4±1 °C for 28 days. The sensorial quality of samples was determined by consumer acceptance and ranking tests. During the shelf-life, in milk kefir samples, pH decreased, and Brix increased. In water kefir samples, pH decreased, and brix remained constant by lyophilized culture (Method 1), pH increased, and brix decreased by kefir grain (Method 2). The water kefir produced with grain was closer to the color of the fresh fruit. The highest TPC, TFC, and AOC were observed in the water kefir produced with ripe orange loquat using Method 2 (OWK2). Based on the sensory evaluation, the most preferred milk kefir was produced from unripe green loquat (GMK), and water kefir was produced from semi-ripe yellow loquat using Method 1 (YWK1) with 33.75% and 18.4%, respectively. These results indicated the potential usage of loquat in high-quality milk kefir and water kefir production with extended shelf-life.

Keywords

Farklı Olgunluktaki Yenidünya Kullanılarak Süt Kefiri ve Su Kefiri Üretimi

Öz

Yenidünya (Eriobotrya japonica L.) hasat sonrası raf ömrü kısa olan subtropikal bir meyvedir. Meyvenin tüketimini artırmak için yüksek kaliteli ve uzun raf ömürlü ürünlere dönüştürülmesi önemlidir. Bu çalışmada, kabuklu olgunlaşmamış yeşil (G), yarı olgun sarı (Y) ve olgun turuncu (O) yenidünya kullanılarak su kefiri ve süt kefiri üretilmiştir. Örneklerin kalite özellikleri pH, briks, renk, toplam fenolik madde (TPC), toplam flavonoid içerik (TFC) ve antioksidan kapasite (AOC) açısından 4±1°C'de 28 gün depolama süresinde değerlendirilmiştir. Örneklerin duyusal özellikleri tüketici beğeni ve tercih testleri ile belirlenmiştir. Depolama süresinde, süt kefiri örneklerinde pH azaldı ve briks arttı. Su kefiri örneklerinde ise liyofilize kültür (Yöntem 1) ile pH azaldı ve briks değişmedi, dane (Yöntem 2) ile pH arttı ve briks azaldı. Dane (Yöntem 2) ile üretilen su kefiri renginin taze meyvenin rengine daha yakın olduğu belirlendi. En yüksek TPC, TFC ve AOC değerleri Yöntem 2 kullanılan olgun turuncu yenidünya ile üretilen su kefiri (OWK2) olduğu gözlemlendi. Duyusal analize göre en çok tercih edilen süt kefiri ve su kefiri sırasıyla %33,75 ile olgunlaşmamış yeşil yenidünyadan üretilen örnek (GMK) ve %18,4 ile yarı-olgun sarı yenidünyadan üretilen Yöntem 1’in uygulandığı örnektir (YWK1). Bu sonuçlar, yenidünya meyvesinin uzun raf ömrü ile yüksek kaliteli süt kefiri ve su kefiri üretiminde potansiyel kullanımını göstermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Ethical Statement

The sensory analyses conducted in this study were undertaken under the ethical approval granted by the Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University Science and Engineering Sciences Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Committee (Document Number: 05.06.2025-250957, Meeting Date: 04.06.2025, Meeting Number: 03, Decision Number: 04). Informed consent was obtained from all participants involved in the study. Participation was voluntary, and participants were informed about the objectives, procedures, potential risks, and benefits of the study before consenting.

Thanks

This article has been produced from Sema Karamanoğlu’s MSc. Thesis, named as “Quality Characteristics of Water and Milk Kefir Produced with Loquat Fruit at Different Extent of Maturity”.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Food Properties

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Manolya Eser Öner ^*
0000-0003-4237-437X
Türkiye

Sema Karamanoğlu
0009-0000-5217-3980
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

January 21, 2026

Publication Date

January 21, 2026

Submission Date

August 23, 2025

Acceptance Date

October 3, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 29 Number: 2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.18016/ksutarimdoga.vi.1770938

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA74LF94AA

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Öner, M. E., & Karamanoğlu, S. (2026). Milk Kefir and Water Kefir Production Using Loquat at Different Extent of Maturity. Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi Tarım Ve Doğa Dergisi, 29(2), 502-519. https://doi.org/10.18016/ksutarimdoga.vi.1770938