Nutritional and Sensory Evaluation of Novel Ice Cream Products Formulated From Kunu-Zaki Fortified with Fruit Pulp

Abstract

Consumption of ice cream produced from dairy products has been reportedly associated with health hazards. To circumvent this, this study was undertaken to formulate plant-based ice cream using kunu-zaki and soymilk (as substitutes for dairy milk) fortified with mango, banana and avocado. Standard method for the preparation of ice cream was modified to formulate three variants of kunu-zaki ice cream designated as B (40% kunu-zaki, 40% banana pulp and 20% soymilk); C (40% kunu-zaki, 40% mango pulp and 20% soymilk); D (40% kunu-zaki, 40% avocado pulp and 20% soymilk), while control sample A was commercial dairy-based ice cream. Analyses of proximate, mineral and vitamin compositions were carried out on the samples following standard procedures. The results showed lower fat content in all the formulated ice cream samples, which ranged from 0.60 - 0.96 g/100g compared to the control sample with fat content of 8.15 g/100g. Similarly, the formulated ice cream samples have significant protein content with sample D recording the highest value of 3.67 g/100g compared to control sample. Samples B and C contained higher vitamin C, vitamin B6, calcium and sodium content in comparison to sample A. Sensory evaluation showed that samples B and sample C were the most acceptable ice cream variants in comparison to the control sample. These findings lend credence to the strategy of value addition for providing healthier food alternatives while contributing to the reduction in post-harvest losses of fruits utilized as fortificants.