This study presents a comparative analysis of ohmic and conventional heating methods for milk concentration, evaluating processing kinetics, energy-exergy efficiency, quality parameters, environmental footprint, and sensory attributes. Ohmic heating outperformed conventional methods, slashing processing time by 1.88–4.33times and reducing energy consumption by 10.5–17 times, while achieving remarkably higher energy and exergy efficiencies (42.71–57.79% and 9.48–12.75%, respectively) compared to conventional heating (5.42% and 1.18%). Notably, ohmic heating led to less significant pH alterations (3.87 - 6.97%) compared to conventional heating method (10.37%). However, ohmic heating did induce more pronounced changes in color. Sensory attributes identified 20 V/cm as the best voltage gradient for balancing taste, texture, and aroma. Crucially, ohmic heating reduced CO2 emissions by 90.3–95.6% relative to conventional heating. These results establish ohmic heating as a sustainable, energy-efficient alternative for industrial milk concentration, addressing critical challenges in food processing sustainability without compromising product quality.
