Improved heat stability of goat milk through adjustment of salt balance

• The type and concentration of resin affected the thermal stability of goat milk. • The removal rate of Ca and P reached 27%-37% after resin addition. • The pH and ethanol stability raised to 6.96 and 78% after 25 g/kg A resin addition. Heat treatment induces the denaturation of proteins in goat milk, increasing its susceptibility to age gelation and precipitation during shelf life. This study aims to enhance the thermal stability of goat milk by adjusting salt balance by resin modification, aiming to resolve its heat sensitivity. The boiling and ethanol stability, denaturation rate of whey protein, sedimentation rate of protein, salts balance, protein profiles, and turbiscan spectrograms were measured. The results indicated that the goat milk exhibited low thermal stability. Cations in goat milk were partially removed by ion-exchange resins, with calcium and phosphorus removal rates reaching 27%-37%. The pH of the UHT goat milk increased from 6.67±0.02 to 6.96±0.01, and the ethanol stability increased from 39.33±1.15% to 78.00±1.00% after adding 25 g/kg Resin A. The denaturation rate of whey protein and the sedimentation rate of protein decreased significantly. The turbiscan spectrograms showed that the peak width at the bottom decreased with the increasing concentrations of Resin A, indicating enhanced stability. The results indicated that the thermal stability of goat milk improved after decalcification by resins.