ABSTRACT
<b>Background and Objective:</b> Different researches have been achieved on non-dairy products as an alternative to dairy products. The interest in tiger nut tubers has considerably increase in recent years due to its nutritional and health benefits. Fermented drinks of non-dairy origin play an important role in diets worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the growth behavior and viability of <i>L. casei</i>-01 in tiger nut milk made with milk permeate or cheese whey as an extraction medium. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Tiger nut milks were prepared using tiger nut tubers at ratios 1 to 3 (w/v) of water, milk permeate or cheese whey as extract media. Tiger nut milks and Skimmed milk were inoculated with <i>L. casei</i>-01 at 2%. The Titratable Acidity (TA) and <i>L. casei</i>-01 were determined during fermentation at 37°C for 8 hrs as well as during cold storage at 4°C for 20 days. <b>Results:</b> Results showed that the substitutions of water with permeate or whey led to the change of chemical composition of tiger nut milk. Fermented permeate or whey-tiger nut milk significantly had higher rate of titratable acidity development during fermentation or during cold storage as compared with fermented water-tiger nut milk or skimmed milk. The total viable counts of <i>L. casei</i>-01 were the highest in fermented whey-tiger nut milk after 10 days. <b>Conclusion:</b> <i>Lactobacillus casei</i>-01 can grow with high viability in permeate or whey-tiger milk.
