Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the compositional, physical, and color characteristics of sheep, goat, buffalo, and cow milk in the Mediterranean region to examine the differences among species as well as the relationships between these characteristics. The findings indicate that milk composition and physical properties play a determining role not only in terms of nutritional value but also in the formation and perceptual characteristics of milk color. Differences observed among species with respect to basic components such as fat, protein, lactose, and solids-non-fat were also reflected in the CIELAB color parameters and total color difference (ΔE) values. In terms of color parameters, the L* value exhibited strong relationships with milk composition and certain physical properties, whereas the a*, b*, Chroma, and Hue parameters showed more selective and limited associations. Interspecies ΔE analyses revealed visually distinct color differences particularly between sheep milk and the other milk types, while goat and cow milk were found to be more similar to each other in terms of color characteristics. These findings suggest that species-specific compositional structures and physical properties play an important role in the perception of milk color.

Keywords

Mediterranean region, sheep, goat, buffalo, cow, milk composition, milk colour