Influence of sucrose substitutes on the quality indicators of ice cream in the process of production and storage

Overconsumption of sucrose is a global problem in the health care system. In order to replace it in ice cream completely, it is necessary to use 14–16 % of other ingredients which can affect quality indicators of a finished product. The aim of the study was a comparative assessment of quality indicators of traditional ice cream and ice cream with sucrose replaced by a composition of substitutes that reduce the glycemic index of the finished product. The study was carried out during the production process and storage. Modern research methods were used: chemical, structural-mechanical, microstructural and differential scanning calorimetry. Ice cream samples with sucrose replaced by a composition of maltitol and inulin, erythriol and inulin, fructose or trehalose (in a ratio of 4:3 and 3:4), fructose or trehalose with inulin were the objects of the study. It has been established that the glycemic index decreased by 1.4–4.5 times in the experimental ice cream samples compared to the control (14 % sucrose). With replacement of sucrose by the composition of inulin and polyols, the caloric content of ice cream decreased by 30 %. The viscosity values of the mixtures with erythritol, as well as with fructose and trehalose (with a ratio of 3:4) were not different from the control sample. Among the experimental samples, the softest consistency was noticed with the domination of fructose in the composition with trehalose, and the hardest one was in the sample with erythritol and inulin. Studies of thermophysical properties of ice cream have shown that the use of erythritol in the composition with inulin causes a significant decrease in the glass transition, freezing and cryoscopic temperatures, which negatively affects the consistency of the product. The samples with maltitol and inulin, and the samples with trehalose and inulin demonstrated thermophysical properties that were the closest to the control sample of ice cream. It has been established that the dispersion of ice crystals decreased most in the samples with maltitol and inulin, as well as with fructose and inulin: crystal sizes increased by 15 and 21 %, respectively, after 3 months of storage. It has been found that the introduction of fructose and inulin, fructose and trehalose increases the duration of the induction period of fat oxidation by 11 hours in comparison with the control sample. On the whole, the studies have shown that full replacement of sucrose with ingredients having different molecular weight, in particular erythritol and inulin, leads to a noticeable change in the consumer and technological properties of the product.