J Food Sci Technol (April 2021) 58(4):1389–1400
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-020-04650-9
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Optimization of recombination of milk at different fat levels
in a small volume universal disperser unit
Rupesh Prabhudas Datir1 • Menon Rekha Ravindra1 • M. Manjunatha2
Monika Sharma1
Revised: 10 June 2020 / Accepted: 15 July 2020 / Published online: 21 July 2020
Ó Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2020
Abstract Recombined milk (RM) can be prepared by
blending of butteroil, skim milk powder and water and used
for variety of purposes in dairy industry. The present work
was undertaken to investigate the feasibility of a custom
designed and fabricated universal disperser unit for the
preparation of recombined milk. Water, SMP and butteroil
were used to manufacture the recombined milk. Three
levels of fat viz 1.5%, 3.0% and 4.5% were evaluated to
study the effect of fat content on the recombination effi-
ciency of the universal disperser using a high shear saw
tooth impeller to impart the required shear and disperse the
fat in water–SMP matrix to form a stable emulsion. Two
independent parameters i.e. temperature at three different
levels (20, 35 and 50 °C) and impeller speed (10,000,
15,000 and 20,000 rpm) were selected for the study. All
operations were carried out in heating cum process vessel
having working capacity of 3 L. The efficiency of the
operation was judged based on the dependent parameters
namely, mixing time, mixing index, creaming index, -
power consumption and overall acceptability. Experiments
were designed as per RSM in Design Expert V.10.0 soft-
ware and results obtained were optimized and predicted
solutions were compared with observed data. From the
study, the optimal combinations for preparation of
recombined milk were obtained as 1.5% Fat RM
(17,820 rpm, 48 °C), 3.0% Fat RM (15,701 rpm, 48 °C)
and 4.5% Fat RM (15,459 rpm, 48 °C).
& Rupesh Prabhudas Datir
rupeshdatir@gmail.com
1
Dairy Engineering Section, SRS, ICAR-National Dairy
Research Institute, Bengaluru, India
2
College of Agriculture Engineering, GKVK, UAS,
Bengaluru, India
•
Keywords Recombined milk  Universal disperser 
Emulsification  Dispersion  Response surface
methodology
Introduction
Recombined milk (RM) is prepared by dissolving skim
milk powder in water, generally at 40–45 °C, then add-
ing of liquid milk fat (preferably anhydrous milk fat of
good quality), making a coarse emulsion by vigorous
stirring or with a static mixer, and then homogenizing
the liquid. This product is similar to homogenized whole
milk, except it lacks most of the material of the natural
fat globule membrane, such as phospholipids (Walstra
1999). Stabilizers and emulsifiers are often added to
facilitate emulsification of the fat and to improve storage
stability.
Today, recombined milk is used for preparation of
variety of dairy products apart from its basic use as fluid
milk for the same purposes i.e. direct consumption and
manufacture of dairy products, etc. (Tetrapak 2015).
Recombined and reconstituted milk and milk products
provide a nutritious and high quality source of dairy
products. The products prepared from recombined milk
includes recombined evaporated milk, recombined
sweetened condensed milk, recombined cheese milk,
recombined milk yogurt and other fermented products,
higher fat containing products like butter and cream
(Tong 2002).
The general production protocol for recombined milk
products involves the following unit operations: blending,
dispersing, deaerating, hydrating, dissolving, emulsifying,
thermal processing, homogenizing, and packaging (Tong
2002). In recombined milk preparation, it is desired that
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fat should be dispersed evenly within the water–SMP
matrix to form a stable emulsion of water and oil. This
can be ensured by proper homogenization method and
equipment. Homogenizers are generally meant for dis-
ruption of fat globules in tiny size less than 2 lm which
do not allow to rise the cream on the top surface during
prolonged storage. Homogenizer is costly and energy
intensive equipment which require proper maintenance
and servicing.
High pressure homogenizer is popular in dairy industry
due to its capability of continuous production and estab-
lished efficacy. Apart from high pressure homogenizer,
many alternative technologies has been discovered for
homogenization for potential use in dairy industry. High
speed blending and mixing devices, colloid mills,
microfluidization, ultrasonication and membrane emulsifi-
cation are examples of alternate technology (Huppertz
2011). The present investigation uses the high shear tech-
nology for recombination of constituents to prepare a
recombined milk.
High-shear mixers (HSM) are agitation systems that
rotate at very high speeds, reported in the range from
10,000 to 20,000 rpm. The mixers are often employed to
break down particles, in applications such as in powder
dispersion or emulsion formation. In fact, high-shear
mixers are recommended as an excellent choice for
emulsion making processes (Hall et al. 2013; O’Sullivan
et al. 2018). The breakdown action requires the neces-
sary creation of high shear force and its dissipation as
surface energy. They produce intensive localized dissi-
pation of energy near the mixing head. HSM units are
therefore reported to consume much power than its
counterpart i.e. conventional mechanically stirred vessels.
HSMs have been applied mainly in energy exhaustive
processes such as dispersion, homogenization, grinding,
cell disruption, emulsification and dissolving in various
food-manufacturing applications (Zhang et al. 2012).
Small and medium scale dairy processing units and
some food manufacturing processors require recombined
milk as an ingredient in various food formulations. These
small unit owners cannot afford to install costly equip-
ment to produce the recombined milk for low volume
processing. Hence, to address this issue, a low cost
universal disperser was developed and tried for the
preparation of recombined milk at small scale. The
universal disperser was equipped with a high shear (saw
tooth) impeller with a heating cum processing vessel.
The recombined milk was processed at different levels of
impeller speed and temperature conditions to optimize
the process parameters. The parameters were optimized
considering different factors as discussed in subsequent
sections.
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Materials and methods
Design and fabrication of universal disperser
A small volume (3 L) universal disperser was designed to
perform the multiple functions such as mixing, blending,
emulsification, stirring, agitation and dispersion that are
involved during processing of dairy products. The disperser
comprised of process vessel, low speed motor (for opera-
tions within speed B 2000 rpm), high speed motor (for
operations with a speed C 2000 and B 20,000 rpm),
impellers and support framework and accessories. The
process vessel module was designed to facilitate the mix-
ing/agitating/shearing operations with simultaneous heat-
ing/cooling of the experimental product. The process vessel
unit (Fig. 1a) comprised of three concentric cylinders i.e.
inner cylindrical vessel, jacket vessel, outer cylinder along
with necessary heating elements and controllers with
working capacity of 3 L. High shear saw tooth impeller
(Fig. 1b) was selected to facilitate the different unit oper-
ations in the preparation of the selected product. Impeller
was characterized by its ability to power delivery and high
speed shearing. According to standard design equation, the
ratio of impeller diameter to vessel diameter was kept as
1:3. The material of construction for the disperser was
selected as SS-316 due to its sanitary features and has good
machinability (Kaladhar et al. 2012). The inner and outer
vessel (water jacket space) dimensions were computed to
D = 18 cm and H = 20 cm and D = 23 cm and
H = 26 cm, respectively. The critical insulation thickness
was determined based on standard equations and provided
as 2 cm to avoid the heat losses. An outlet was provided at
the bottom of the vessel to draw the samples and emptying
the product.
Height cum support adjustment was provided to mount
the motor and to adjust the height of impeller while pro-
cessing the product. The heating cum process vessel was
operated by electrical heater and rating of electric heating
element was computed based on the heat load calculations
(for heating of 3 kg product) using water in the jacketed
space to be heated to a maximum of 95 °C within 15 min.
Sample preparation and analysis
The recombined milk was prepared by mixing the butteroil,
skim milk powder (SMP) and water in the process vessel at
selected temperature and impeller speed for a period of
5 min. The SMP (Brand Nandini) used for the study was
purchased from the local Nandini Milk Parlour (Karnataka
Milk Federation, Bengaluru). Butter oil was prepared using
butter freshly prepared from the cream which was procured
from Experimental Dairy Plant, SRS, ICAR-NDRI,
J Food Sci Technol (April 2021) 58(4):1389–1400
Fig. 1 a 3-D view of the
complete universal disperser
and b isometric views of the
high shear saw tooth impeller
Bengaluru. The cream was standardized to 40% fat and
kept for ageing for 10–12 h. The aged cream was churned
in the universal disperser using an anchor impeller, main-
taining the jacket temperature at 5 °C. The butter thus
obtained was stored at refrigerated temperature till further
use. Each batch of butteroil was prepared by melting the
butter at 80–90 °C, followed by straining of the supernatant
anhydrous milk fat. Potable water, sourced from R.O.
system located in the Dairy Engineering Section, SRS,
NDRI, Bengaluru, was boiled and allowed to cool before
use in the preparation of recombined milk.
Different levels of fat i.e. 1.5%, 3.0% and 4.5% were
studied to check the effect of fat level on efficiency of
saw tooth high shear impeller. These three levels were
correspond to double toned milk, toned milk and stan-
dardized milk respectively. High shear impeller was used
to provide sufficient shear to uniformly disperse the
butter oil in water–SMP matrix. The impeller shaft
attached with high shear blade was fixed to high speed
motor at central position through collet mechanism. The
speed was controlled through electronic speed regulator
connected to an input power cable of motor. The speed
of impeller was monitored by a handheld tachometer
(Make-Generic, Model-SE188). The impeller was located
slight off centre to the vessel to avoid vortex formation
and at a height of 3 cm from the bottom of vessel for
efficient mixing.
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Determination of mixing time
The mixing time defined as the time taken for the unifor-
mity ‘U’ to reach the equilibrium concentration. The
equilibrium concentration refers to the final theoretical
total solid concentration of recombined milk that assumed
to be reached upon mixing of all ingredients. The total
solid concentration of the drawn samples were measured
by gravimetric method at a fixed interval of time (30 s).
The mixing time was read from the plot of mixing effec-
tiveness versus time, as the time corresponding to the point
when the mixing effectiveness reached a steady state. The
mixing time is determined by the following Eq. (1) with
some modifications (Oshinowo et al. 2000):
C1  CðtÞ
UðtÞ ¼ 1  ð1Þ
C1
In this expression, C1 is the equilibrium or the final con-
centration and CðtÞ is the concentration at a point at some
instant in time. The quantity at ‘t’ was determined at var-
ious locations in tank.
Determination of mixing index
For evaluating the mixing index for the present study, the
mix was assumed to be a binary phase of total solids and
the liquid phase (moisture). Representative samples from
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different locations in the tank were drawn while the
impeller was in motion, at different instances of time
within the mixing period and analyzed for its total solids
content by the standard gravimetric method. The data was
analyzed to evaluate the variance in the mix, during the
mixing process and substituted in Eq. (2) to compute the
mixing index.
Mixing index (M) was determined by the Eq. (2) given
by Lacey (1954).
s20  s2
M¼ ð2Þ
s20  s2R
where S2 is the variance in the real mixture.
S20, the variance in totally unmixed system and S2R
variance in completely randomized system, is determined
using Eqs. (3) and (4) as:
S20 ¼ qð1  qÞ ¼ qp ð3Þ
qp
S2R ¼ ð4Þ
N
p and q are mass fraction of two components, N is the total
number of the readings from a sample. The mixing index
M lies between 0 (totally segregated) and 1(totally ran-
domized). It would be logical to assume that complete
mixedness, M = 1, is approached asymptotically as mixing
is continued and to seek a quantitative relationship between
mixing time and mixing quality (Kuakpetoon et al. 2001).
Parameters such as power consumption was determined
using digital wattmeter (Model: PM03, Make HTC).
Determination of creaming index
The creaming index was determined as per the method
given by Ertugay et al. (2004). In this method, the
recombined milk was placed into a graduated cylinder of
250 mL and kept undisturbed in a refrigerator for 48 h.
Samples were then drawn from the top layer (i.e. top 10%
of the volume) and the bottom layer (bottom 90% of the
volume) and the fat content of the individual layers were
estimated using the standard Gerber method. The following
equation was used to calculate the creaming index of the
samples:
ab
Creaming index ¼  100
a Experiments were repeated at different levels of fat (1.5%,
where a and b were the fat content of the top and bottom
layers of the recombined milk, respectively.
Evaluation of overall acceptability
Sensory evaluation was done by trained panel of minimum
six judges and students of the institute on nine-point
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hedonic scale on the basis of color and appearance, flavour,
consistency and overall acceptability (Veena et al. 2017).
Determination of total solids
About 5 g of sample was weighed accurately in previously
dried and cooled Aluminum dish. It was kept on water bath
for evaporation. It was transferred to oven at 105 ± 1 °C
and heated for 4 h and then cooled in desiccator for 30 min
and weighed. The same procedure of heating and cooling,
then weighing was repeated till successive weight differ-
ence did not exceed 1.0 mg (IS: SP: 18, part XI, 1981).
Lowest observed weight was noted and TS calculated as
follows:
100  Weight of sample after drying
TS ð% by weightÞ ¼
Weight of sample taken
Determination of kinematic viscosity of recombined
milk
The kinematic viscosity of the recombined milk was
determined by Ostwald’s Viscometer (Make: Vensil
Glassware, Chennai). Thirteen millilitre of distilled water
was tempered to a temperature of 25 °C and filled into the
receiving arm of the viscometer. The time for flowing of
distilled water through capillary of opposite arm was
recorded. Similarly, time for flow of equal volume of
recombined milk was calculated at the same temperature
and viscosity was calculated by the Eq. (5). The viscosity
thus obtained was represented as centistoke.
g¼kt
ð5Þ
ðk ¼ g=t of waterÞ
where g = viscosity, centistoke k = conversion factor
t = time (s).
Statistical analysis and optimization
Based on preliminary investigation, two process factors
(independent variable) were identified for the study, the
processing temperature and impeller speed during the
preparation of recombined milk in universal disperser.
3.0% and 4.5%) to analyse the efficiency of universal
disperser in the preparation of the recombined milk. The
range of the process parameters selected for the study were
as follows: temperature (20, 35 and 50 °C) and Impeller
speed (10,000, 15,000 and 20,000 rpm). Three levels of
temperature were selected considering their effect on the
solubility of SMP and butteroil in water. Similarly, three
levels of speed of impeller were selected to evaluate its
J Food Sci Technol (April 2021) 58(4):1389–1400 1393

effect on blending of SMP, butteroil and water. Face-cen-
tred central composite design (FCCCD) with five replicates
at the centre point was used to develop predictive models
for studying effects of the independent variables on the
physicochemical, rheological and sensory quality of
recombined milk. This design was selected as it is a cubic
design, with axial points that are situated at a distance a
(value of ± 1) from the centre of the design (Cam and
Aaby 2010). Replications of experiments in the centre of
design are applied to estimate the pure error that could
occur due to systematic errors during experimentation (Qiu
et al. 2010). The combination of process variables, for the
13 runs (for each level of fat) of experiments as per the
selected design, in terms of actual values of the indepen-
dent variables are tabulated in Table 1.
The experimental design as per Table 1 was conducted
and the responses for each run were recorded in terms of
mixing index, mixing time, power consumption and overall
acceptability (for the quality attributes of colour and
appearance, flavour, consistency and overall acceptability).
The main and interaction effects of independent variables
on the different responses were assessed using response
surface methodology (RSM) of Design-Expert v.10.0
software (Stat Ease Inc., Minneapolis). The experimental
data obtained for each of these selected responses were
fitted with second order polynomial equation.
Depending on the statistical significance of the higher
order term and interactive effect process variables, the
respective terms were retained or eliminated from the
quadratic model. The effects of the process variables on the
selected responses were elucidated in the form of 3-D
surface plots generated for any two independent variables,
while holding the value of the third variable as constant (at
the central value). The goodness of fit of the model was
evaluated by considering both the statistical significance of
lack of fit (non-significant) of the model as well as the
adjusted and predicted coefficient of determination (R2) of
the fit (required to be as close to unity as possible). The
optimal combination of process parameters (processing
temperature and impeller speed) was determined using the
numerical optimization option of the software, by setting
suitable constraints to the model.
Validation of the optimised process parameters
The process conditions optimized in the study was vali-
dated against experimental values obtained by preparing
the recombined milk under the recommended process
conditions and recording the real time values of all the
responses, i.e. mixing time, mixing index, creaming index,
power consumption and sensory scores for overall
acceptability. The obtained values were compared with the
predicted value (generated by the software) and statistical
difference between the experimental and predicted values
were tested using the Students’ t test (a = 0.05).
Results and discussion
Effect of process parameters on mixing time
of recombined milk
From Table 1, it can be seen that the temperature and
impeller speed had significant effect on mixing time of the

Table 1 Face-centred central composite design with experimental values of response variables
Run Independent variables Dependent variables
Mixing time (s) Creaming index Power consumption (W) Overall acceptability
A: RPM B: Temp (oC) 1.5% 3.0% 4.5% 1.5% 3.0% 4.5% 1.5% 3.0% 4.5% 1.5% 3.0% 4.5%

1 15,000 35 150 150 180 27.18 36.98 36.15 155.29 152.11 154.33 7.93 7.66 7.57
2 20,000 35 120 150 120 30.15 28.35 34.85 192.58 192.98 195.18 8.03 7.90 7.75
3 10,000 50 270 210 150 52.22 45.85 52.29 91.15 94.96 94.61 7.97 7.99 7.36
4 20,000 20 240 270 270 58.85 61.96 64.85 192.89 193.18 197.28 5.95 5.90 5.85
5 15,000 35 150 180 210 34.88 36.68 32.58 154.85 156.28 153.85 7.70 7.70 7.50
6 15,000 35 180 210 180 33.25 35.45 42.18 157.85 155.47 154.36 7.50 7.80 7.40
7 20,000 50 90 90 120 25.15 25.69 30.45 189.25 195.65 192.22 8.20 8.11 7.65
8 15,000 20 300 300 250 65.18 64.58 70.18 155.84 153.75 158.25 5.52 5.42 5.37
9 10,000 20 300 300 300 70.14 74.15 77.45 94.20 95.263 96.85 5.42 5.40 5.26
10 15,000 50 120 150 180 39.78 34.15 31.5 150.48 157.85 150.66 8.09 8.04 7.57
11 10,000 35 210 180 240 65.25 55.18 56.48 92.18 92.52 94.89 7.63 7.25 7.21
12 15,000 35 180 180 210 40.5 32.15 38.99 154.56 154.29 157.65 7.90 7.40 7.70
13 15,000 35 180 180 180 33.18 42.15 36.45 156.28 150.35 152.63 7.80 7.70 7.60

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recombined milk. Mixing time was noted as the minimum
time required for the non-dimensional concentration ratio
(Eq. 1) to asymptotically approach a steady value. The
surface plots depicting the influence of the process
parameters on the mixing time of all three fat levels
recombined milk is presented in Fig. 2a–c.
A close perusal of the data presented indicates that the
processing conditions during the recombination had a more
telling effect on the mixing time than the fat level itself.
When processed at 20 °C, the mixing time was recorded as
300 s at 10,000 and 15,000 rpm, while when processed at
20,000 rpm, the mixing time marginally reduced to
240–270 s. The higher mixing time could be attributed to
low melting of the fat as well poor solubility and wetta-
bility of milk powder at that temperature (Jeantet et al.
2010). At the higher process temperature, the mixing time
varied linearly with the impeller speed and inversely with
the fat content. A mixing time of 90 s was noted in 1.5 and

300
350
250
300

Mixing Time, s
200
Mixing Time, s

250

200 150

150 100 20000

20000
100
50 18000
50 18000
16000
16000
14000 A: RPM
14000 A: RPM 50
44
50 38 12000
44 32
38 12000 26
32 20 10000
26
20 10000
B: Temperature
B: Temperature
(b)
(a)

350

300

250
Mixing Time, s

200

150 20000

18000
100
16000

14000 A: RPM
50
44
38 12000
32
26
20 10000

B: Temperature

(c)

Fig. 2 Mixing time value as influenced by temperature and impeller speed (RPM). a 1.5% Fat, b 3.0% Fat and c 4.5% Fat

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3.0% fat recombined milk while in case of 4.5% fat, it was
120 s when processed at 20,000 rpm at 50 °C.
Effect of process parameters on mixing index
of recombined milk
Mixing index of all three recombined milk of different fat
level (1.5, 3.0 and 4.5% fat) were evaluated. Mixing index of
the recombined milk samples were determined at various
levels of fat content in recombined milk to evaluate the
mixing efficiency. Both temperature and impeller speed had
no significant effect on the mixing index of the recombined
milk. A near unity mixing index (0.99–1.0) obtained for all
the impeller speed and fat levels evaluated, are indicative of
completely randomized (well mixed) milks (Berk 2018).
Effect of process parameters on creaming index
of recombined milk
The creaming index gives an idea about the stability of fat
in the water–SMP metrics. It is desirable to have less
creaming index to keep the fat globules in suspended state
or uniformly distributed in the milk. The creaming index of
10 is denoted as excellent while 11–20 is very good, 21–30
is good and [ 30 is poor (Ertugay et al., 2004). The effect
of fat level on the creaming index observed for the
recombined milk in the study is discussed below.
For obvious reasons, the fat level in the recombination had
significant effect on creaming index of the recombined milk.
If we compare the different fat levels at same processing
conditions, it can be seen that creaming index increased as
the fat level increased. When recombined milk (1.5, 3, 4.5%
fat) was processed at 20 °C at 10,000, 15,000 and
20,000 rpm, the creaming index increased at higher fat
levels. Similar trends were also observed when processed at
35 and 50 °C. The lowest creaming index of 25.15 was noted
when recombined milk of 1.5 per cent fat level was processed
at 50 °C at a speed of 20,000 rpm, while the highest
creaming index (77.45) was observed at 10,000 rpm (20 °C).
Both the process parameters, namely the impeller speed
and the process temperature showed a synergistic effect on
the creaming index observed. The degree of shear that
imparted to milk determines the reduction in fat globule
size. Therefore, higher the shearing action, more is the size
reduction (Rybak 2016) resulting in lower creaming index.
Similarly, the processing temperature plays crucial role in
preparation of recombined milk. The raw materials such as
butteroil and SMP have a tendency to mix well when
processed at higher temperature. This is attributed to the
softer fat at higher temperature due to its meltability (Aken
and Visser 2000), and the enhanced solubility and dis-
persability of milk powder at elevated temperatures
(Jeantet et al. 2010) leading to more stable emulsions. The
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creaming index at 35 °C was in the range of (27.14-56.8)
while in case of 50 °C, it was in the range of 25.15–52.29.
Effect of process parameters on power consumption
of recombined milk
The data related to power consumption is presented in
Table 1. The power consumed during the processing of
recombined milk was noted against each level of fat,
temperature and impeller speed. Upon evaluation, it was
found that the power consumption varied linearly with the
impeller speed. At 10,000 rpm, the power consumption
ranged between 91.95 and 96.85 W, at 15,000 rpm, it was
between 150.48 and 158.25 W, while at 20,000 rpm, the
power consumed was recorded between 189.25 and
197.28 W. Only marginal differences in power consump-
tions were observed among the three different fat levels in
the recombined milk when processed at same temperature
and impeller speed. Further, temperature had a negative
correlation with power consumption. This could be ascri-
bed to multiple influence of temperature on the recombi-
nation process and the resultant power draw namely, ease
of fat globule fragmentation, improved powder dis-
persability as well as viscosity changes in recombined milk
fluid itself, favouring lesser power consumption. The sur-
face plots depicting the influence of the process parameters
on the power consumption of all three recombined milk is
presented in Fig. 3a–c.
Effect of process parameters on overall acceptability
of recombined milk
The overall acceptability scores obtained for the combi-
nation of process parameters evaluated in the study ranged
from 5.26 to 8.20. The recombined milk prepared using the
universal disperser was served to a panel of judges to
evaluate its quality in terms of sensory attributes on a nine-
point hedonic scale. The obtained data is presented in
Table 1. It can be seen that both temperature and impeller
speed had synergistic effect on sensory quality of the
recombined milk. The low fat recombined milk (1.5% Fat)
prepared at higher temperature and impeller speed
(20,000 rpm at 50 °C) obtained highest sensory score 8.20
which implied a linguistic description of ‘‘like very much’’.
Samples prepared at the lower temperature scored signifi-
cantly poor due to the unsatisfactory dispersion of both fat
and SMP at this temperature. Among the three fat levels
evaluated, the sensory panel preferred the samples prepared
at 1.5% fat level. This was in contrast to the general
expectation, that higher fat content improves the sensory
quality of milk. Mccarthy et al. (2017) has also disproved
this assumption and highlighted the different sensory
appeal of milk based on its fat content based on the
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200
200
180
180

Power Consumption
Power consumption

160
160
140
140
120
120
100
100
80

80

50 20000
44 18000
38 16000 50 20000
32 14000 44 18000
B: Temperature 26 12000 A: RPM 38 16000
20 10000 32 14000
B: Temperature 26 12000 A: RPM
20 10000

(a) (b)

200

180
Pow er C onsum ption

160

140

120

100

80

50 20000
44 18000
38 16000
32 14000
B: Temperature 26 12000 A: RPM
20 10000

(c)

Fig. 3 Power consumption value as influenced by temperature and impeller speed (RPM). a 1.5% Fat, b 3.0% Fat and c 4.5% Fat

consumer profile and their familiarity with fat level in the effect of all the process parameters was observed on the
milk they use for daily consumption. viscosity of the recombined milk. At same processing tem-
perature, the kinematic viscosity found to vary linearly as the
Effect of impeller speed on kinematic viscosity impeller speed increased from 10,000 to 20,000 rpm, for all
of recombined milk the three fat levels evaluated. This could be attributed to the
effect of high shearing causing the fat and SMP to disperse
The kinematic viscosity of recombined milk was determined well in the liquid phase to a more stable emulsion, positively
by using Ostwald’s viscometer at 26 °C. An interactive influencing the viscosity of the recombined milk.

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For 1.5% fat sample, the highest kinematic viscosity
value of 1.565 centistokes was recorded when stirred at
20,000 rpm and processed at 50 °C while lowest was noted
as 1.233 centistokes at 10,000 rpm at 20 °C. In case of
3.0% fat level, highest viscosity value of 1.925 centistokes
was recorded at 20,000 rpm at 35 °C while the lowest
value of 1.256 centistokes was found to at 10,000 rpm
when processed at 20 °C. Similarly, for 4.5% fat recom-
bined milk, the highest viscosity value of 1.894 centistoke
was observed at 20,000 rpm at 50 °C while lowest value
1.299 centistoke was found at 20 °C at 10,000 rpm. Li
et al. (2018) found that the fat content significantly
increases milk viscosity. A potential reason for the increase
of viscosity among three different fat level was that the
presence of higher number of large size fat globules in
higher fat content milk which offered resistance to flow.
Microscopic analysis of high shear treated
recombined milk
The ability of saw tooth high shear impeller to homogenize
the fat in milk was determined by using optical microscope
(Nikon YS100) under 409 resolution. The raw unhomog-
enized milk was treated at 20,000 rpm at 50 °C for period
of 5 min. Then the sample were analysed under optical
microscope to understand the effect of high shear treatment
on diameter size and increase in number of fat globules.
Upon analysis, it can be seen that there was significant size
reduction in the fat globules size. The comparison between
untreated sample and treated samples showed in Fig. 4; it
can be seen that there was increase in the number of fat
globules than raw milk.
Regression analysis and model fitting
The selected responses i.e. mixing time, creaming index,
power consumption and overall acceptability was modelled
Fig. 4 Effect of high shear
treatment on milk fat globule:
a before high shear treatment
and b after high shear treatment
1397
using quadratic models. The regression coefficients, p val-
ues and model fit statistics of the fitted quadratic models for
the four responses are presented in Table 2. It can be seen
that the R2 value for the responses mixing time, creaming
index, power consumption and overall acceptability
were [ 0.80 indicating a good fit to the model (Adepoju
2014) while in case of mixing index, it was \ 0.50 indi-
cating no significant effect.
Optimisation of process parameters for preparation
of recombined milk
Optimization of the process parameters namely, tempera-
ture and impeller speed during the preparation of recom-
bined milk was done using inbuilt program in Design
Expert V.10.0. Software. Constraints were set to maximize
the overall acceptability while creaming index, mixing
time and power consumption were set to minimize. The
temperature and impeller speed (RPM) were kept in range
during optimization. In case of 1.5% fat recombined milk,
the software suggested two solutions for the optimal
combinations of process parameters, the combination of
17,820 rpm and 48 °C temperature with a desirability of
0.78 was selected as the most optimal combination of
process parameters for preparation of 1.5% Fat recombined
milk. Similarly, the optimal process parameters combina-
tion for 3.0% Fat (15,701 rpm and 48 °C) and 4.5% Fat
(15,459 rpm and 48 °C) with desirability of 0.82 and 0.88
respectively, were selected as the most optimal
combinations.
Validations of the optimised process conditions
The process conditions optimized in the study was vali-
dated against experimental values obtained by preparing
the recombined milk under the recommended process
conditions and recording the real time values of all the
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123
Table 2 Regression coefficients and ANOVA of quadratic model of mixing time, creaming index, power consumption and overall acceptability for different levels of impeller speed (RPM)
(a) and temperature (b)
Factor 1.5% Fat RM 3.0% Fat RM 4.5% Fat RM
MT CI PC OA MT CI PC OA MT CI PC OA

Intercept 165.51 35.83 155.47 7.76 178.96 37.03 153.71 7.62 199.23 37.68 154.52 7.53
A - 55* - 12.24* 49.53* 0.19** - 30* - 9.86* 49.84* 0.21** - 30** - 9.345* 49.72* 0.23*
B - 60* - 12.83* - 2.00* 1.22* - 70* - 15.83* 1.04NS 1.23* - 61.66* - 16.37* - 2.48* 1.01*
AB - 30** - 3.94NS - 0.14NS - 0.075NS - 22.5*** - 1.99NS 0.69NS - 0.095NS - 1.22E-014NS - 2.31NS - 0.70NS - 0.07NS
2 NS NS NS NS NS NS
A 5.68** 6.76 - 12.37* 0.071 - 11.37 3.85 - 10.99* 0.018 - 8.62 6.95** - 9.37* - 0.009NS
B2 50.68** 11.54** - 1.59*** - 0.952* 48.62* 11.45* 2.05NS - 0.82* 26.37NS 12.13* 0.04NS - 1.019*
2
R 0.92 0.89 0.99 0.98 0.94 0.96 0.99 0.98 0.83 0.97 0.99 0.99
Adj R2 0.87 0.81 0.99 0.98 0.9 0.94 0.99 0.97 0.71 0.95 0.99 0.98
Adq. Pre. 13.65 10.81 111.95 30.58 15.6 20.48 77.03 27.23 9.25 21.11 91.72 34.14
Model F-value 17.07* 11.68* 1665.47* 129.08* 23.53* 39.37* 780.69* 95.13* 7.10* 46.58* 1079.78* 160.20*
Lack of Fit NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS
NS nonsignificant, MT mixing time, OA overall acceptability (s), CI creaming index, PC power consumption (W)
*Significant at p \ 0.01; **Significant at 0.01 B p \ 0.05; ***Significant at 0.05 B p \ 0.10
J Food Sci Technol (April 2021) 58(4):1389–1400
 J Food Sci Technol (April 2021) 58(4):1389–1400

Table 3 Comparison of predicted and observed values of responses to validate the optimized results
Parameter 1.5% Fat RM 3.0% Fat RM 4.5% Fat RM
Predicted Observed Calculated t value Predicted Observed Calculated t value Predicted Observed Calculated t value
(a = 0.05) (a = 0.05) (a = 0.05)

Mixing time (s) 109 110 ± 17.32 0.9252NS 147 140.33 ± 17.32 0.5225NS 142 140.33 ± 17.32 0.5225NS
NS NS
Creaming index 30.67 29.24 ± 0.89 0.3273 30.27 29 ± 1.25 0.4 24.6 32.41 ± 1.04 0.9541NS
NS NS
Power consumption 177 176.39 ± 1.21 0.4342 162.9 163.62 ± 1.19 0.4685 156.7 157.33 ± 0.90 0.2369NS
(W)
Overall acceptability 8.19 8.21 ± 0.07 0.5994NS 8 7.87 ± 0.24 0.3553NS 7.65 7.38 ± 0.33 0.3158NS
NS non-significant (mean ± SD, n = 3); RM recombined milk
1399

123
1400
responses, i.e. mixing time, creaming index, power con-
sumption and overall acceptability.
The obtained values were compared with the predicted
values (generated by the software) and statistical difference
between the experimental and predicted values were tested
using the Students’ t test (a = 0.05). The results of vali-
dation are presented in Table 3. No significant difference
was observed between the experimental and predicted
values, confirming the adequacy of the developed model.
Conclusion
The present study demonstrated the effect of preparation of
recombined milk using the small volume universal dis-
perser on its physicochemical and sensorial quality. The
recombined milk of three different fat levels was prepared
by varying the temperature and impeller speed with the
help of high shear (saw tooth) impeller in a developed
universal disperser. Interactive effect of fat level, pro-
cessing temperature and impeller speed influenced the
quality attributes of the recombined milk. The optimal
process conditions were optimized and the values of mix-
ing time, creaming index, power consumption and sensory
score agreed well with predicted values, conforming the
adequacy of the developed quadratic model. The recom-
bined milk when prepared with 1.5% Fat level scored
better in terms of overall acceptability, mixing time and
power consumption compared to the other two fat levels.
The higher level of impeller speed and temperature
exhibited aid in the better processing of recombined milk.
It can be inferred that the universal disperser can be uti-
lized for processing and preparation of low fat recombined
milk.
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