Vegetable protein application in whey soy drink mix and ice cream

Full fat and defatted soy flours have been used successfully as major ingredients in a low cost replacement for milk solids in beverages for human consumption in several countries of the world. Milk solids replacement products using vegetable protein may have limited potential as long as surplus milk solids exist on a world basis. Some of the milk trends that are occurring in the U.S. are discussed as they pertain to future use of vegetable protein. It appears likely that there will be a decline in milk production with a higher per capita disposable income available for the purchase of processed dairy products utilizing vegetable protein. Ice cream is one of the more sensitive test systems in which to evaluate the flavor and functional properties of vegetable protein for use in dairy products. Sensory panel data have shown that properly processed soybean isolate protein can be used as a 50% replacement for milk solids protein with no discernible differences from a control product. These sensory tests in ice cream show significant differences among commercial soy isolates.