In yogurt gels made with a lower inoculation
rate (e.g., 0.5%), the slightly earlier start to the
CCP solubilization process and its occurrence at a
slightly higher pH value may have altered the type of
casein particles present in the gel network. A higher
pH at LTmax (e.g., pH ∼5.14) observed in yogurt gels
formed at a lower inoculation rate would be far from
the isoelectric point of casein, suggesting that there
were greater electrostatic repulsions compared with
yogurt gels made with a higher inoculation rate. Inoculation
rate also changes both the TGel and TpH4.6, so it
is also possible that some of the observed changes in
gel properties are due to the altered kinetics of gel formation. The overall result of the slower inoculation
rate was the formation of weaker gels that were more
prone to rearrangement and whey separation.