Physicochemical, rheological, and sensory properties of low-fat ice cream designed by double emulsions

This research was conducted to evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of using double emulsions to reduce fat content in ice cream. Polyglycerol poliricinoleate (PGPR)-lecithin blend and guar gum (GG) or guar gum-gum tragacanth (GGGT) blend were used as emulsifier/stabilizer in the formulations. Ice cream samples prepared by double emulsion method and by conventional method were compared in terms of rheological properties, overrun, melt-down resistance, and sensory properties. It was possible to reduce fat content of ice cream to 2.8% by means of double emulsion method without affecting ice cream quality adversely. Using GGGT blends in double emulsion formulation provided about 6% increase in overrun values, 13% decrease in rate of melting, and 20% increase in overall acceptability in sensory analysis as compared to the samples prepared by GG. Practical applications: The result of this research can be used in production of low fat ice cream. There have been many attempts to reduce fat content of ice cream by using fat replacers or components imitating fat. However, the major problem of using fat replacers is low sensory quality of reduced fat ice cream. In this study, double emulsion method was used for reducing the fat content of ice cream. It was possible to reduce fat content of ice cream to 2.8% by means of double emulsion method was possible without affecting ice cream quality adversely. Double emulsion as a new technique to form ice cream with reduced fat content without changing quality characteristics as compared to regular fat content ice cream.