Quality Attributes of Avocado, Pumpkin Seeds and Lemon Fortified Lactose-Hydrolyzed Curd and Yogurt

The present study focuses on developing lactose-hydrolyzed curd and yoghurt enriched with avocado pulp powder, pumpkin seed powder, and lemon juice, and evaluating their physico-chemical and sensory characteristics. Compared to the control (non-hydrolyzed samples), the lactose-hydrolyzed variants exhibited higher acidity, greater syneresis, and reduced setting time. Incorporation of avocado pulp powder (0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75%), pumpkin seed powder (0.50%, 0.75%, 1.00%), and lemon juice (0.50%, 0.75%, 1.00%) into the hydrolyzed curd and yoghurt resulted in increased titratable acidity, decreased syneresis, and shorter setting time, except for lemon juice which caused a rise in syneresis. The optimized formulations demonstrated improved physico-chemical properties, with syneresis reduced by 1.8 ml, setting time shortened by 115 minutes, and acidity increased by 0.16% LA. Sensory evaluation revealed that samples containing 0.50% avocado pulp powder, 0.75% pumpkin seed powder, and 0.75% lemon juice achieved the highest scores for colour and appearance, body and texture, flavour, and overall acceptability on the 9-point Hedonic scale. The enriched lactose-hydrolyzed curd and yoghurt showed enhanced physicochemical characteristics and superior sensory quality when compared with both lactose-hydrolyzed and non-hydrolyzed control samples.