Abstract
Cayenne peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) were incorporated to ayran aiming to obtain a health promoting ayran with different flavour. The effects on the physico-chemical characteristics, antioxidant and phenolic capacity, counts of Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, yeast, moulds and coliforms, sensory and volatile compounds analysis were performed. Ayran samples with powdered peppers had significantly higher antioxidant and total phenolic contents than the ayrans with sliced pepper. Pepper addition increased Lactobacillus and Streptococcus counts compared to control ayrans. The dominant bacteria during the storage period (7.61-8.88 log CFU/ml) was Streptococcus. Panelists rated flavour, texture, appearance and color properties of ayran samples with sliced pepper similar to control samples. Ayran samples with 15% sliced peppers had the maximum overall scores.