The functional, rheological and sensory characteristics of ice creams with various fat replacers

The effects of fat replacers (Simplesse (R) D-100, N-Lite D, and inulin) on the melting characteristics, overruns, hardness, rheological parameters and sensory attributes of reduced (RF, 60.0 g/kg), low (LF, 40.0 g/kg), and nonfat (NF, 1.0 g/kg) ice creams were investigated. The magnitudes of the melting rates were in the order RF > LF > NF for samples that contained Simplesse (R) D-100 or inulin, but the reverse order was found for samples with N-Lite D. The nonfat ice creams had lowest overrun values of around 10%. Inulin-containing ice creams possessed higher overrun values than others (P > 0.05). The use of fat replacer decreased the hardness of ice creams. All ice cream samples showed pseudoplastic (shear-thinning) behavior. The addition of N-Lite D and inulin decreased the flow behaviour index of ice cream samples. The reduced and low fat ice cream samples were rated as similar to the control by a sensory panel. On the other hand, no correlations (P > 0.05) were observed between rheological parameters and sensory texture and mouthfeel.