The Effect of Date Syrup and Arabic Gum on the Physicochemical and Sensory Properties of Orange Kefir Ice Cream by Using Principal Component Analysis Method (PCA)

Fermented ice cream is a new dairy dessert with low amount of fats and sweeteners as compared to the typical ice creams. Since kefir contains collections of various bacteria and yeasts with unique nutritional, sensory and desired functional properties, it is considered as an unique product in dairy industry. The aim of this study is to use kefir in ice cream formulation and investigate the substitution of sugar by the date syrup and in addition study the effect of arabic gum as a stabilizer on the physicochemical and sensory properties of the ice cream.
In this study, kefir is first produced and then used in the ice cream formulation. Then effects of sugar substitution by date syrup (0%, 25%, 50% and 75% w/v) and arabic gum (0%, 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% w/v as stabilizers) on physicochemical (acidity, pH, viscosity, overrun, melting rate and first dripping time) and sensory properties of orange kefir ice cream were investigated.
The results indicated that the application of date syrup and arabic gum caused increases in the acidity, apparent viscosity, overrun, first dripping time and decreases in melting rate and pH of the ice cream samples. Organoleptic scores were decreased by increasing the date syrup and arabic gum concentrations.
By considering the kefir microbial flora activity on the physicochemical properties of the product, it might be concluded that 25% date syrup and 0.2% arabic gum concentrations are the most suitable sugar and stabilizer substitution in the production of kefir ice cream.