Rice flour used to make plant-based yogurt alternatives
What it found
Rice flour can be fermented into plant-based yogurts with probiotic bacteria above the minimum recommended level.
In a consumer taste test, people preferred the white rice flour yogurt over the brown rice flour one.
What they found
Studies in people
Consumer preference
Consumers preferred the white rice flour yogurt for overall flavor and liking, sweetness, and tartness.
Health claim and buying
Purchase intent for the white rice flour yogurt rose 2.6 times after a health claim was given.
Other findings
Protein and starch levels
Brown rice flours had greater protein, fat and ash levels, and lower starch levels and peak viscosities, than white rice flours.
Fermentation and bacteria
Using brown rice flour led to longer fermentation times but higher bacteria counts in the yogurts.
Probiotic levels
The rice flour yogurts had probiotic counts above the minimum recommended, which the authors say provides added health benefits.
How it was done
Plant-based yogurt alternatives are in demand because of milk sensitivities and allergies, and because some consumers avoid animal-derived products. Rice flour has potential because it is hypoallergenic, more economical than plant milks, and no commercial rice-based yogurts exist.
Rice flours from a new higher protein rice variety called Frontière, sold as brown and white rice, were fermented with three bacteria to make yogurts. A consumer study compared the brown and white rice flour yogurts to a commercially available oat-based yogurt, with consumers rating them on 9-point hedonic and just-about-right scales.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- The taste test only compared these yogurts to one commercial oat yogurt, so it cannot show how they compare to other plant-based yogurts.
- The health benefit claims about probiotics are not tested in this study.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- LSU Agriculture Center, USA
The paper
- Title
- Use of rice flour to produce plant-based yogurt alternatives
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Morris A, Boeneke C, Prinyawiwatkul W, King JM (2024). Use of rice flour to produce plant-based yogurt alternatives. Journal of food science. doi:10.1111/1750-3841.17331PubMed 39363216DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error