In this study, fermented rice milk was used as a novel coagulant for a type of soft cheese named as paneer. Rice milk was produced by a wet milling system in a process where brown rice was first soaked in water at a ratio of 1:2 (w/w), then milled by micro wet milling. Rice milk was pasteurized and gelatinized followed by the saccharification and lactic acid fermentation process. Paneer was produced using whole dairy milk mixed with 10%, 20%, and 30% of simultaneous saccharified and fermented (SSF) rice milk as a coagulant, and was analyzed for its physicochemical, microbial, and sensory properties. The results indicated that fermented rice milk has constructive effects on the physicochemical properties, texture, and shelf life of paneer, as there were no obvious defects observed for up to 12 days of storage at 4 °C. The sensory evaluation revealed that the acceptability score of the samples containing rice milk reduced slightly compared to the control samples. No significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were observed among all the paneer samples incorporated with different percentages of rice milk, and the product was rated acceptable.

Yeast and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are known to play an important role in the fermentation process of coffee post-harvest. This study aimed to isolate and screen yeast and LAB to be applied in lab-scale refermentation of commercial green coffee beans and coffee pulp with the aim of modifying the composition of organic acids (OAs) in coffee beans. Yeast and LAB strains were isolated from green coffee beans and dry coffee pulp and identified, and their effect on OA concentration in the coffee beans was quantified. In addition, the effects of different fermentation conditions (additional carbon source, different inoculum dose, and different types of coffee pulp) were evaluated based on OA quantification. Nine yeast isolates of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Wickerhamomyces anomalus were identified, and 11 LAB isolates of the species Enterococcus mundtii were identified. Of the 7 OAs quantified, quinic acid was the most abundant. The inoculation of isolated yeasts and LAB led to higher concentrations of OAs, showing the potential to realize modification of the OA composition of green coffee beans by re-fermentation with coffee-originated isolates.

To enhance the pore structure of green coffee beans (GCB) and detect the sorption capacity and extraction characteristics of flavor compounds before roasting, this study employed several methods: hot air drying (HD), freeze-drying (FD), 3-levels short-time heating with puffing (SH₁P, SH₂P, and SH₃P), and 3-levels microwave with puffing (MW₄₅P, MW₆₀P, and MW₇₅P). These methods were applied to GCBs pre-soaked in water for different times. The effects of these treatments on color change, porosity, microstructure, citric acid sorption capacity, and caffeine and chlorogenic acid extraction yield were investigated. Results indicated that, except for GCBs treated with SH₁P, SH₂P, SH₃P, and MW₇₅P, all other modified GCBs showed minimal color change. GCBs treated with MW₆₀P exhibited favorable pore structures. MW₆₀P treatments significantly improved the extraction yield of caffeine and chlorogenic acid. Furthermore, the increased porosity and improved pore size distribution of GCB after MW₆₀P resulted in a significant increase in the sorption of citric acid onto modified GCB. The rate of the sorption reaction followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics. In conclusion, MW₆₀P are effective treatments for enhancing the microstructure of GCB, improving sorption capacity, and improving the extraction yield of flavor compounds.