Evaluation of green coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) pulp for use as milk, fat and emulsifier replacer in ice cream

Abstract

The green coconut water (6-8 months) is widely consumed in Brazil, but the edible pulp and husk are discarded generating a large volume of waste. In our laboratory we have investigated the use of this pulp as an ingredient in chocolate ice cream. The pulp replaced fat, milk, emulsifier and stabilizer, resulted in a product very similar to true ice cream and was sensory approved by 93% of panelists. In the present study the objective is to characterize and evaluate functional properties of green dwarf fresh and freeze-dried coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) pulp, using ice cream of umbu (Spondias tuberosa), acid fruit of Brazilian Northeast, as a system to evaluate the influence of lipids on product quality. Functional properties analyses and ice cream manufacture were performed with fresh pulp (FP), freeze-dried pulp (FD) and defatted freeze-dried pulp (DFD). The proximate composition were 92.70% and 8.01% moisture, 0.39% and 27.95% fat, 0.97% and 19.9% protein, 0.75% and 10.72% ash and 5.19% and 33.42% carbohydrate, respectively for FP and FD. The fatty acid composition is consistent with literature values for immature dwarf coconut, with predominance of lauric acid (38.05%). The foaming capacity showed values of 120% for FP, 209% for egg white, 77.6% for FD and 70.8% for DFD. For emulsifying capacity, the volumes of soybean oil required to cause inversion of the emulsion were 72.7 mL/g (dry basis), 19.17 mL/g, 28.9 mL/g and 28.3 mL/g, respectively for FP, egg yolk, FD and DFD. The ice cream produced with defatted pulp showed 11% reduction in overrun, increase in hardness and unchanged meltdown. The results indicate that green coconut pulp has foaming and emulsifying capacities that can be used as milk, fat and emulsifier replacer in ice cream, even at low pH values, and in other products. (c) 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of 11th International Congress on Engineering and Food (ICEF 11) Executive Committee.