The heat treatment of milk greatly improves the acid gelation of milk and is therefore largely applied in yoghurt manufacture. During the heat treatment, soluble and micelle-bound whey protein/κ-casein complexes are produced in milk. The complexes and their physico-chemical properties have been held responsible for the early gelation point, the increased final firmness and for the serum retention capacity of the acid gels made of heated milk. They are suspected to bring new functionalities to the casein micelles and to help the formation of interactions when building the gel network. In order to investigate the type of interactions that the complexes can affect throughout the acid gelation of milk, an original strategy would be to control the physico-chemical properties of the whey protein/κ-casein soluble complexes and to use them as vectors to modify the possible interactions in the milk. In that perspective, the different physico-chemical properties of the whey protein/κ-casein soluble complexes that are thought to significantly affect the acid gelation behaviour of the casein micelles are listed. Then, the physical, chemical and biological means that could possibly be applied to the formation of complexes in order to modulate each of the targeted property are reviewed and evaluated. In order to open a large choice for future investigation, these methods were found in a larger literature resource than milk, including other protein systems like model whey protein solutions or non-dairy globular protein systems. The food-compatible character of some of these means is indicated, for their potential technological interest.

摘要 牛奶经热处理后可以大大改善牛奶的酸凝固过程, 因此热处理广泛应用于酸奶的生产中。热处理会在乳中产生可溶性蛋白与酪蛋白胶束结合的乳清蛋白/κ-酪蛋白复合物。这些复合物和他们的物理化学性质会导致牛乳凝固点提前、形成凝胶的硬度提高, 以及热处理牛乳形成酸凝胶的持水力增强。这种处理方式有可能改变酪蛋白胶束的功能特性, 可能有助于凝胶网络的形成。为了研究复合物对乳酸凝固过程的影响以及相互作用的类型, 首先要控制可溶性乳清蛋白/κ-酪蛋白复合物的物理化学性质, 然后以这种复合物为模型来研究乳中可能的相互作用。本文列出了不同物理化学性质的可溶性乳清蛋白/κ-酪蛋白复合物对酪蛋白胶束酸凝固性质的影响。此外, 为调整每个目标产物的特性, 本文综述和评价了所形成复合物的物理、化学和生物学意义。为了对将来研究提供更多的选择性, 本文对乳以外的文献也进行了综述, 如模拟乳清蛋白溶液或者非乳球蛋白体系等其他类型的蛋白质体系。并指出了这些体系与食物相对应的特性, 以及潜在的应用前景。