Development of fermented beverage of wheat germ and sweet-waxy maize

In this study, wheat germ and sweet-waxy maize were used as main raw materials, and lactic acid bacteria was employed for preparing the fermented beverage. First, the combination of lactic acid bacteria was studied, and then the production process was evaluated by single factor experiment and orthogonal design. Finally, the taste and tissue state were adjusted. Results showed that the optimized combination of lactic acid bacteria was Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis.The production process comprised the steps of mixing wheat germ, sweet-waxy maize and water at a mass ratio of 1∶2∶12, adding 2% skimmed milk powder, inoculating 2% lactic acid bacteria, fermenting at 38 ℃ and pH 7.0 for 24 h, sterilizing, ripening after cold storage, adding 1.0% white sugar and 1.5% honey for seasoning, and adding stabilizer containing 0.05% CMC-Na, 0.05% sodium alginate and 0.05% xanthan gum. The prepared beverage had refreshing flavor of wheat germ and sweet-waxy maize, and tasted slightly sweet and sour.