Effect of food binders on the textual and sensory characteristics of ice cream

Abstract

Ice cream was produced using local food binders namely: Afzelia africana,Deuterium microcapum and Taro tuber to find a suitable replacer for carboxylmethyl-celleuose (CMC). Results showed that, though viscosity, efflux time and foam stability increased with increase in A. africana, D. microcapum and T. tuber local food binder concentrations, they were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than CMC. The meltdown and overrun on the other hand decreased with increase in local food binder concentration. At 0.7% concentration, D. microcarpum had the same value with CMC. The pH of samples produced with the local binders did not differ statistically from CMC. Sensory evaluation results showed that sensory attributes generally improved with increased in concentration of A. africana, D. microcapum and T. tuber. On the basis of the textural and sensory characteristics of the local binders studied, D. microcarpum at 0.7% concentration was found to be the best local food binder to replace CMC in ice cream. Key words: Ice cream, CMC, local food binders, texture, sensory characteristics.