Evaluation of mung bean protein and aquafaba as co-stabilizer for sour aerated emulsions

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of pH12 shifting treatment of protein and addition of a novel foam booster, aquafaba (AQ), on the properties of mung bean protein (MBP)-based sour whipped cream at pH 3.0. The characteristic interfacial adsorption of AQ-MBP, the effects of the emulsion and foam stabilizers on the freeze-thaw stability of the emulsions, and the whipping properties of emulsions were explored. The results showed that pH12-treated MBP (BMBP) emulsions exhibited significant aggregation of fat droplets due to the reduced ability of BMBP to absorb on the oil droplets compared to native MBP (NMBP). Despite having lower shear viscosity, the BMBP emulsion showed stronger foaming capacity but longer whipping time in subsequent aeration. Creep-recovery and shape retention tests indicated that whipped cream produced with BMBP exhibited lower hardness and was more difficult to stand, contrary to the overly firm texture of NMBP cream. The inclusion of AQ in the emulsion improved the stability and enhanced the trend of overrun during whipping. Combining NMBP and BMBP at a 1:1 ratio and incorporating AQ resulted in a freeze-thaw stable emulsion. It was determined that the optimum whipping time for this emulsion was 38 s longer than the commercially available product while the overrun exhibited a remarkable 19.9% increase.