Content area
Full text
ABSTRACT
The effects of varying concentrations (2, 4, and 6%) of 2 types of rice flours (RF 1 and RF 2) on the physicochemical properties and sensory characteristics of vanilla ice cream samples were assessed at different fat levels (0, 4, and 10%) and storage conditions (control vs. heat-shocked). Fat and total solids were measured as well as hardness, viscosity, and melting rate. Eight trained panelists conducted descriptive sensory analyses of the samples at 0 and 7 wk. The 2% rice flour level and to a certain extent the 4% usage level generally improved texture while affecting to a lesser extent the flavor characteristics of the samples compared with the control. The RF 2 generally had a more significant effect than RF 1, especially on the texture attributes. Although the rice flour reduced the negative impact of temperature abuse on textural properties, the samples still deteriorated in textural properties (more icy) under temperature abuse conditions. In addition, rice starch does lower perceived sweetness and can have a "flour flavor" at high usage levels. The use of rice flour appears to be most advantageous for low fat ice cream samples.
Key words: sensory, rice flour, ice cream, fat substitute
INTRODUCTION
Regular ice cream production dropped 5.2% between 2003 and 2004 in the United States. However, in the low fat and nonfat categories, hard ice cream production increased 4.5% over the same period (Anonymous, 2005). The increase in lower fat ice cream sales could be due the fact that consumers are getting more accustomed to the taste of lower fat products (Stubenitsky et al., 1999) and are appreciating the taste of reduced fat products because of their level of motivation (Kähkönen, 2000), or it may be that they are simply making more health conscious purchases. A study by Li et al. (1997) points to the latter of the two assumptions. Acceptance scores by US panelists for vanilla ice cream increased progressively for samples varying in fat level in increments of 2% from 4 to 10%, even by panelists who claimed to prefer a lower fat type of product. Although there is clear interest in lower fat frozen desserts, the results indicate that additional work may be needed to improve their quality.
Reducing the fat in...