Aim: Yogurt is a probiotic-rich fermented dairy product made by lactic acid fermentation using various bacteria. This study explored using chili stalks, a waste product from the chili industry, as a natural starter for fermenting both dairy and plant-based milks like soy, peanut, chickpea, and oat milk into yogurt. Materials and Methods: A plant-based milk was fermented using non-dairy lactic acid bacteria derived from Capsicum spp., namely red and green chillies. These samples of milk were inoculated with red and green chilli stalks. In these yogurt samples, various nutritional parameters were analysed, including protein, fat, ascorbic acid, and lactic acid content. Results: It was recorded that Red chili stalk inoculated Soy Yogurt (RSY) had the highest protein content (9±0.01)/100 g; fat content was the highest in peanut yogurt (25.51 g/100 g) and the Red chilli stalk inoculated Chickpea Yogurt (RCY) recorded the highest content of lactic acid (0.31%). Compared to green chilli stalks, red chilli stalks were generally higher in ascorbic acid. It can be concluded that the soya yogurt inoculated with red chili stalk provides superior nutritional benefits compared to peanut, chickpea, and oat yogurt.
