Impact of stabilizers on the freezing process, and physicochemical and organoleptic properties of coconut milk-based ice cream

The objective of the study was to characterize the effects of selected stabilizers on the freezing process and the physicochemical properties of coconut milk ice cream. Two stabilizers were used: inulin (0.8, 1.6, 2.4, 3.2 and 4 g/100 g of the mixture) and locust bean gum (LBG) (0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 g/100 g of the mixture). Freezing process was performed in two stages. After the temperature of the ice cream mixtures reached −6 °C, they were hardened at −30 °C for 24 h. Then the samples were examined for their chemical composition, overrun, melting time and melting resistance, hardness and colour. The results showed that increasing concentration of inulin and LBG resulted in a decrease in the cryoscopic temperature and melting time of ice cream. On the other hand, ice cream produced from the mixtures containing higher inulin concentration and lower LBG concentration were characterized by higher overrun. Addition of inulin and LBG cause statistically significant changes in hardness of ice cream. The differences in colour of tested ice creams were shown. The highest scores in the sensory evaluation were obtained for ice cream with LBG and 0.8 g/100 g and 4 g/100 g of inulin.