Hickory kernels were provided by Zhan’s Food Co., Ltd (Ningguo,
China). Black soybean, whole milk powder (Nestle) and skimmed
milk powder (Bright) were purchased from Carrefour in Hefei,
China. Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus 1.1480(Lb)(þ) and
Streptococcus thermophilus ys14(St)(þ) suitable for fermenting
hickory-black soybean milk were isolated, domesticated and
preserved in the Laboratory of Microbial Resources and Application
of Hefei University of Technology