The influence of ultrasound homogenization on recrystallization during the storage of vegan ice cream

Abstract

This article investigated the influence of ultrasound homogenization and stabilizers (iota carrageenan and its hydrolysates) in the production of vegan ice cream. The cryoscopic temperature, osmotic pressure, overrun, melting time, and microstructure analysis were investigated. Vegan ice cream were stored at −18°C and the recrystallization process was analyzed based on images taken after 24 h, 1 month, and 3 months. According to the results, it was noted that ultrasound homogenization contributed to obtaining smaller ice crystals in ice cream, in comparison to the samples after traditional homogenization. The average diameter of ice crystals in the sample US pretreated, after 3 months of storage was less than 21 μm. The overrun value ranged from 9.22% to 32.36% and the melting time for samples did not exceed 34 min. The analysis of the cryoscopic temperature and osmotic pressure showed that ultrasound contributed to increasing the cryoscopic temperature and lowering the osmotic pressure.Practical ApplicationsThe presented study shows an alternative to dairy products for the vegan ice cream market. Changing mechanical homogenization to ultrasound homogenization in vegan ice cream production might be an effective step for ice cream producers. Owing to the fact that the use of ultrasound during production may reduce the impact of using stabilizers on the recipe of vegan ice cream. Finally, such changes will not result in additional steps in ice cream production which may not generate additional costs.