Sheep milk has a high nutritional value and high concentrations of proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins, as compared to the milks of other domestic species. The physicochemical and nutritional characteristics of sheep milk can be advantageous for the manufacture of products containing prebiotic ingredients and/or probiotic bacteria, which are major categories in the functional food market. Following this technological trend, this review will address the characteristics and advantages of sheep milk as a potentially functional food, as well as the development of sheep milk dairy products containing prebiotics and/or probiotics.

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Dairy foods, particularly those of bovine origin, are the predominant vehicles for delivery of probiotic bacteria. Caprine (goat) milk also possesses potential for successful delivery of probiotics, and despite its less appealing flavor in some products, the use of goat milk as a probiotic carrier has rapidly increased over the last decade. This review reports on the diversity, applicability, and potential of using probiotics to enhance the sensory properties of goat milk and goat milk‐based products. A brief conceptual introduction to probiotic microorganisms is followed by an account of the unique physicochemical, nutritive, and beneficial aspects of goat milk, emphasizing its advantages as a probiotic carrier. The sensory properties of probiotic‐enriched goat milk products are also discussed. The maintenance of probiotic viability and desirable physicochemical characteristics in goat milk products over shelf life is possible. However, the unpleasant sensory features of some goat milk products remain a major disadvantage that hinder its wider utilization. Nevertheless, certain measures such as fortification with selected probiotic strains, inclusion of fruit pulps and popular flavor compounds, and production of commonly consumed tailor‐made goat milk‐based products have potential to overcome this limitation. In particular, certain probiotic bacteria release volatile compounds as a result of their metabolism, which are known to play a major role in the aroma profile and sensory aspects of the final products.

Prato cheese, a typical ripened Brazilian cheese, contains high levels of sodium, and the excess intake of this micronutrient is associated with hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. A technological alternative to reduce the sodium content in foods is to replace NaCl with KCl and the addition of flavor enhancers. The present study aimed to combine quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) and temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) to assess the sensory profile of reduced-sodium probiotic prato cheese with the addition of flavor enhancers. Five formulations of probiotic prato cheese were manufactured using 1% (wt/wt) salt as follows: C1 (100% NaCl), C2 (50:50 NaCl:KCl), C3 (50:50 NaCl:KCl + 1% arginine), C4 (50:50 NaCl:KCl + 1% yeast extract), and C5 (50:50 NaCl:KCl + 1% oregano extract). Both methods indicated that the addition of flavor enhancers modified the sensory profile of the reduced-sodium probiotic prato cheese. The QDA revealed that flavor enhancers-in particular, yeast and oregano extract-increased the saltiness of samples C4 and C5, respectively, and that the other flavor enhancer, arginine (sample C3), most modified the attributes of prato cheese. The TDS dominance curves revealed that the addition of yeast extract (sample C4) had a positive effect on cheese flavor because it minimized the bitter taste perception resulting from the addition of potassium chloride. Overall, QDA and TDS used together provided interesting insights for establishing the sensory profile of reduced-sodium probiotic prato cheese.

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Goat milk yogurt is an excellent source of fatty acids, protein, and minerals; however, it is not well accepted by many consumers, due to its typical flavor derived from caprylic, capric, and caproic acids present in this milk and dairy products. Recently, the repeated-exposure test has been used to increase the consumption of particular foods. This methodology has been used to increase children's willingness to eat food in some settings and has also been used to reduce sodium in soup. Based on these considerations, the aim of this study was to investigate whether repeated exposures may increase acceptance of both goat milk yogurt and probiotic goat milk yogurt. In a pre-exposure session, a total of 45 panelists (28 females and 17 males) from southeastern Brazil, who were not used to consuming dairy goat milk, evaluated the expected taste perception and the perceived liking after tasting 3 yogurt preparations. Then, consumers were randomly divided into 3 groups and participated in rapidly repeated exposure sessions performed within 6 d. Each panelist consumed only the yogurt that he or she would be exposed to. The day after the exposure sessions, all panelists returned to participate in the postexposure session and were asked to evaluate acceptance, familiarity, and the "goaty taste" characteristic of each yogurt. Regarding the expected liking before tasting, results showed higher expectations for cow milk yogurt compared with goat milk yogurt, which proved that consumers were not familiar with the goat milk yogurt. Likewise, only cow milk yogurt presented high acceptance and familiarity rates, confirming that these panelists were used to consuming cow milk products. With respect to the rapidly repeated exposure, 6 d were enough to significantly increase the consumers' familiarity with goat milk yogurt and probiotic goat milk yogurt. However, this method was not suitable to significantly increase the acceptance of such products. Nonetheless, a correlation existed between the exposure sessions and the increase in acceptance of the exposure groups. Thus, hypothetically, the increasing of exposure sessions could be a strategy to increase goat milk product acceptance.