MILK JAM OR DULCE DE LECHE: PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION

Physicochemical characterization of Dulce de Leche (DL) or milk jam, a type of sweetened concentratedmilk especially popular in South America, was carried out on six commercial brands produced in Turkey.One of the samples was prepared using sheep milk while the others were purchased from local retailers.Solid content, protein, fat, ash, pH and lactic acid content were determined. Lightness, yellowness andredness as color parameters of the DL samples were evaluated. Carbohydrate profile and contents in DLsamples were also determined by HPLC. The data were treated using Principal Component Analysis (PCA).Extensive variability among all the parameters evaluated was observed, as a result of using different DLproduction procedures in the dairies. In this regard, PCA was shown to be useful to separate the DL sampleswith distinct physicochemical characteristics and to assess the influence of different production techniqueson the properties of DL samples.