Comparative quality assessment of plant-based kefir as a vegan alternative to traditional kefir

Plant-based milk is emerging as a promising alternative for vegan and vegetarian diets and for people who are allergic to animal products. In this study, kefir was produced using hazelnut, walnut, and cashew milk, and fermented with a combination of Bifidobacterium longum (human origin) and selected autochthonous microbial strains with probiotic potential found in traditional kefir. Significant variation was identified in the physicochemical, microbiological and sensory analyses of kefir produced with plant-based milk and cow milk kefir as a control. In particular, phenolic compound and total phenolic contents were found to be greater in plant-based kefir than in cow milk kefir. Notably, walnut kefir exhibited the highest total phenolic content at 843 mg GAE/L, compared to 83 mg GAE/L in cow milk kefir, highlighting a significant increase in antioxidant potential. On the other hand, the sensory properties of cow milk kefir were rated higher than those of kefir made with plant-based milk. These findings suggest that plant-based kefir can serve as a vegan beverage alternative, although further development is needed to improve flavour acceptability.