Development and characterization of ice cream containing vegetable oils

Abstract

Ice cream is considered one of the world's favorite desserts. It is important for consumers to get benefits and enjoyment from eating this sweet product. The main ingredients of ice cream are milk or cream, sugar, and sometimes egg yolks. Fruits, berries, cocoa, and vanilla are used to add flavor to the recipe. The milk or milk-egg mixture is first heated, then cooled, whipped to saturate the mass with air and obtain the appropriate texture, and frozen. Ice cream can be viewed as a multiphase system consisting of a cryo-concentrated aqueous phase, air bubbles, ice crystals and emulsified fat.

The fat in ice cream comes from the dairy ingredients, but vegetable fats such as coconut or palm oil can also be added. The fat phase ensures the optimal structure of the ice cream, gives it a rich flavor and influences the quality characteristics. It also helps to stabilize the foam, which contributes to the delicate creamy texture of the ice cream. The development of a blend of milk and vegetable fats is one of the most important factors in shaping the required texture, taste and aroma properties of ice cream. The use of liquid vegetable oils containing unsaturated fatty acids and vitamins makes it possible to create a new food product with health benefits. The technology of ice cream using vegetable oils as an alternative to milk fats has been developed, which provides an innovative product enriched with unsaturated fatty acids. The influence of sunflower, linseed, and sesame oils on the texture of ice cream, its taste characteristics, and nutritional value was analyzed. The physicochemical properties of ice cream with the addition of vegetable oils, technological features of replacing milk fats with vegetable fats, as well as their impact on the stability of emulsions and organoleptic properties of the finished product are investigated. The technological aspects of the production of ice cream with vegetable oils, including emulsification, stabilization and freezing processes, are considered. The obtained results can be used to develop new types of ice cream with increased nutritional value and improved consumer characteristics.