Substitution of ingredients by green coconut (Cocos nucifera L) pulp in ice cream formulation

Abstract

The growth in consumption of green coconut water in Brazil comes with a proportional growth of its waste, constituted of coconut husk and pulp. The objective of this paper was to apply green coconut pulp in ice cream formulation to replace milk, fat, gums and emulsifier, common ingredients in this kind of food. The formulations included the following ingredients, used all together or not: coconut pulp, cocoa powder, sucrose, water, carrageenan gum, guar gum and hydrogenated vegetable fat. The liquid ingredients and the pulp were blended and heated in a tank until the temperature reached 45-50 degrees C, when the powdered ingredients were added. Then the mix was pasteurized at 87 degrees C for two minutes. After 24 hour ageing, the freezing-whipping step was accomplished using shaved surface heat exchanger. Finally, the product was kept at -5 degrees C to complete the freezing stage and stored at -18 degrees C. Acceptance testing was used to get information on liking of the product, based on a 9-point hedonic scale. The formulation with all the ingredients, except milk, did not present satisfactory creaminess. The product in which green coconut pulp replaced only fat and milk was not good either. The most satisfactory product contained 41% coconut pulp, 11% cocoa, 17% sucrose and 31% water. The overrun was 19.9% and 10 g presented melting time of 12 min. Regarding the proximate composition, the following average values were obtained: 65% water, 1.0% fat, 2.4% protein, 0.36% ash and 31.2% carbohydrate. The caloric value was 111 kcal/100 g. According to sensory evaluation, 93.2% of the responses fell in 8 and 9 of the hedonic scale. The results indicate that coconut pulp can be used to manufacture free milk, no lactose, low fat and no cholesterol food. (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.