Study of the browning and gelation kinetics in a concentrated sheep milk and sucrose system

Browning and gelation kinetics of a sheep milk and sucrose model system with 70% total solids (simulating dulce de leche) and the influence of temperature and sucrose content on this process were studied. The Kubelka–Munk index and subjective heat stability tests were used to monitor nonenzymatic browning and to determine gelation time. Browning and gelation processes showed different kinetics where gelation was shown to occur much faster than browning. Both independent variables (temperature and sucrose content) had a significant influence in both processes, where temperature had the higher impact.