Quality characteristics of milk ice cream with citrus fibers and gum

Currently at least 4 food additives — emulsifiers and hydrocolloids — are used for ice cream production to stabilize its structure. However adding these substances reduces the demand for this product among healthy lifestyle adepts. The aim of the research was to define the possibility of using citrus fibers and their compositions together with guar and xanthan gums to stabilize the milk ice cream structure. Samples with gelatin and a complex stabilizer (emulsifier) were used as control samples. It was established that adding of citrus fibers in amount of 0.6% makes the product bitter, does not provide the required level of dynamic viscosity of the mixture, it forms an unstable air phase and large ice crystals. The combination of dietary fibers with gums had a positive effect on these quality characteristics. The highest dispersion of ice crystals (average size accounted for 36–39 μm) and dynamic viscosity of the mixture, comparable with the quality characteristics of the sample with a complex stabilizeremulsifier, was achieved in the sample with added fibers and xanthan gum. The sample with dietary citrus fiber and guar gum showed better characteristics in terms of heat resistance in comparison with the samples with fiber only, as well as samples with plain fiber and guar gum. After 60 min of thermostating, the mass fraction of melt was equal to 7%, which is 2.8 and 2 times less than in samples without gums and with xanthan gum. The correlation was found between the parameter “hardness” and the parameter “thermal stability”: the hardest samples showed the highest resistance to melting. Based on the results of the research, the expediency of using combinations of citrus fibers and guar gum or xanthan gum in the production of ice cream with a limited number of food additives was established. Meanwhile it is necessary to take into account the state of structural elements during the product storage, and using the packaging that helps preserve the shape of the ice cream portion.