Abstract: To explore the effects of compound stabilizer on the structure and stability of mango yogurt curd, the sensory quality, texture and structure of the stirred mango yogurt containing a stabilizer mixture of acetylated distarch adipate (ADA), guar gum and propylene glycol alginate (PGA) were assessed. The sensory score and water holding capacity (WHC) of the yogurt containing three stabilizers at varying blending ratios were determined using L₉ (3⁴) orthogonal array. The texture and microstructure of yogurt were measured by using instrumental analysis methods. The results showed that adding ADA, guar gum and PGA at an amount of 0.2%, 0.008%, 0.03%, respectively, could optimally improve yogurt quality and achieve the highest sensory score, with 9.3% (P<0.05) higher than the blank group, of mango yogurt. The addition of the stabilizer mixture showed no effect on the titratable acidity and pH value of yogurt, but significantly (P<0.05) increased its water holding capacity and improved its viscosity and hardness. The scanning electron micrograph indicated that guar gum and protein combined to form a network structure after adding compound stabilizers, and modified starch was embedded in the middle of the network, which stabilized the curd structure of mango yogurt, and improved the sensory quality of mango yogurt. The compound stabilizer can effectively act on mango yoghurt, and this can provide a reference for solving the common stability problems in the production of tropical and subtropical fruit yoghurt.

Key words: compound stabilizer, mango yogurt, water holding capacity, texture, curd structure