Brittany Haller and Allie Jeffs FN 453 23 November 2009 Project Written Report Vegan Ice Cream with Similar Nutritional Value to Dairy-based Ice Cream Abstract Vegan is way of living that entails no meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, or eggs to be consumed. To give those considered vegan other eating options, a chocolate vegan ice cream with similar nutritional values to commercial dairy ice cream was created using coconut and rice milk. In order to do this a chocolate ice cream recipe was used as a standard then coconut milk, rice milk, and combination of coconut milk and rice milk was created for a total of three variables. This use of different milks affected the thickness of ice creams in their liquid state, product texture, and chocolate flavor. Introduction In America, about 2% of adults age 18 years and old consider themselves vegan. (Stahler, 2006) A vegan lifestyle is already limited in acceptable foods to consume especially dessert since so many are heavily dairy reliant. Having more eating options allows an individual to have more food choices while still sticking to their vegan lifestyle regardless the reason they are vegan. Diary milk fat gives ice cream its distinctive richness and characteristic smooth texture depending on percent milk fat by weight in product which can range from 10-20%. However, "There are no real chemical reactions that take place when you make ice cream," says H. Douglas Goff, an ice-cream expert and professor in the department of food science at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, "but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of chemistry." Tiny air bubbles and ice crystals are dispersed among liquid water and a network of destabilized fat globules. This structure contributes to the taste. "When you bite into ice cream, how the flavor is released into the mouth probably is a function of structure," says Richard W. Hartel, professor of food engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Initially, the milk fat exists as tiny globules in the milky starting mixture. Milk proteins on the globules' surface work as an emulsifier to keep the fat in solution. To make the ice-cream structure, these fats need to be destabilized so that they coalesce into larger networks. Whipping the mixture introduces air bubbles and also helps the fat globules to coalesce. These fat globules, in turn, help stabilize the air bubbles. (Halford, 2004)
Coconut milk is a sweet, milky white cooking base derived from the meat of a mature coconut. The color and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high oil content and sugars. The use of coconut milk as a dairy milk substitute gives the final ice cream product the same creaminess as dairy milk well possibly added a tropical flavor. Coconut milk is high in potassium and good saturated fat according to Mary Enig, fellow of the American College of Nutrition in Silver Springs, MD which can attribute to fulfilling nutritional values similar in dairy based ice cream. Rice Milk is not as thick as dairy milk or coconut milk, but because it is slightly sweet it works will with dessert recipes such as ice cream. Compared to dairy milk, rice milk contains more carbohydrate, but not a significant amount of calcium or protein which is why fortifying rice milk for nutritional value is key. Thus samples of dairy milk, coconut milk, and rice milk based ice creams are made to compare for consumer acceptance, color, and texture. Can ice cream made with coconut or rice milk contain the same or similar nutritional value with maintain consumer acceptance? Null hypothesis: There will be no difference between a commercial ice cream and our new vegan ice cream. The independent variable is the different milks, coconut and rice milk. The dependent variable will be measured on color, texture, viscosity, and consumer acceptance of the product. Methods The recipe used to create the homemade chocolate coconut ice cream was found though The Nourishing Gourmet website (Harris). A website dedicated to recipes to create healthy and nourishing foods. The ice cream recipes are listed below. Standard Dairy Milk Ice Cream 237ml of milk 25g of cocoa powder 30ml agave syrup 1.7ml vanilla extract Variable 1 Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream 237ml of unsweetened coconut milk 25g of cocoa powder 30ml agave syrup 1.7ml vanilla extract Variable 2 Chocolate Rice Milk Ice Cream 237ml of shelf-stable rice milk 25g of cocoa powder
Variable 3 30ml agave syrup 1.7ml vanilla extract Chocolate Combo Milk Ice Cream 118ml of shelf-stable rice milk 118m) of unsweetened coconut milk 25g of cocoa powder 30ml agave syrup 1.7ml vanilla extract Procedure: Whisk cocoa powder in a small amount of the variable milk, until smooth. Then add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until well combined. Or dump all ingredients together and blend with a stick blender. Make according to your machines instructions. For trial one, the recipe was followed to make the dairy milk ice cream mixture and placed into an ice cream maker containing three cups of ice and one cup of salt. The ice cream maker was run until the mixture was at a thick, creaming consistency. This procedure was replicated for each variable recipe stated above. Each variable when finished was placed into multiple sample cups labeled with three randomized numbers 828,765, 101, and 623. One sample cup from each variable was used to conduct texture analyzer test with a cone probe and Hunter Colorimeter test. Results were recorded. The rest of the samples for each variable, were set out in a random order to be sampled by consumers. Each consumer was given a sensory scorecard to record their scores for each sample on. Ten consumers scores were used to determine overall data as well as create tables and graphs. The scorecard is in the attached appendix. For trials two and three, the same procedure as trial one was replicated for a total of three trials each containing four samples, standard and three variables. Trial two had sample numbers 754, 202 and 205. Trial three had samples 407, 381, and 599. Results Table 1. Variations in Trials Code Amount of Various Milks Trial # 828 237 ml Coconut Milk Trial 1 754 237 ml Coconut Milk Trial 2 407 237 ml Coconut Milk Trial 3 765 237 ml Rice Milk Trial 1 202 237 ml Rice Milk Trial 2 381 237 ml Rice Milk Trial 3 101 118 ml Coconut Milk and 118 ml Rice Milk Trial 1 205 118 ml Coconut Milk and 118 ml Rice Milk Trial 2 599 118 ml Coconut Milk and 118 ml Rice Milk Trial 3 623 237 ml Cow s Milk Standard
Table 2. Colorimeter Values for Various Trials Variable L a b 828 22 8.17 9.37 754 28.52 7.64 9.24 407 29.38 7.91 9.56 765 17.45 7.96 7.13 202 18.12 1 7.39 381 12 7.66 6.69 101 25.62 7.91 8.88 205 24.36 8.1 8.7 599 25.56 8.23 9.13 623 37.14 9.35 10.45 Table 3. Texture Data for Variations Variation Texture Analyzer Force (g) 828 141.9 754 191.9 407 106.3 765 313.8 202 106.5 381 209 101 66.4 205 52.1 599 45.7 623 13.2 Table 4. Average Ratings for Variations Variation Color Rating Color SD* Aroma Ratings Aroma SD Texture Ratings Texture SD Flavor Ratings Flavor SD Acceptability Ratings Acceptability SD 828 4.6 2.54 5.1 1.52 6.2 1.93 3.6 2.12 3.8 4 754 4.4 2.39 5.5 1.69 4.1 1.96 3.4 7 3.6 2.13 407 4.6 1.90 5.4 2.17 5.8 2.30 3.4 1.96 3.3 1.64 765 7.8 1.23 4.7 1.89 3.8 1.62 4.1 2.18 3.9 1.85 202 8.3 6 4.6 1 2.21 3.4 1.71 3.2 1.75 381 7.8 0.98 3.8 2.64 2.5 1.38 3.3 1.51 3.2 1.83 101 6.1 1.37 4.7 1.95 1.83 3.7 1.57 4.4 1.35 205 5.6 1.17 4.8 1.99 3.1 1.10 3.9 1.91 4.5 1 599 6.8 0.92 4.7 1.77 5.1 1.73 4.9 2.13 4.8 4 623 2.7 1.70 4.9 2.18 8.3 0.82 7.5 1.58 7.1 1.60 *SD = Standard Deviation
Color Values 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 L a b 0 Figure 1. Subjective Values for Color of the Variable Ice Creams 350 Texture Analyzer Force (g) 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Figure 2. Texture Analyzer Force for Each Variable Ice Cream Average Color Rating
Figure 3. Average Color Ratings for Variable Ice Creams Average Aroma Rating Figure 4. Average Aroma Ratings for Variable Ice Creams Average Texture Rating Figure 5. Average Texture Ratings for Variable Ice Creams Average Flavor Rating Figure 6. Average Flavor Ratings for Variable Ice Creams
Average Acceptability Rating 1 Figure 7. Average Acceptability Ratings for Varia4ble Ice Creams Discussion All data from the tables and figures above was collected in the lab. There are sample calculations in the appendix Table 2 and Figure 1shows that the standard color is out of reach for all variables. Table 3 and Figure 2 show that the variables are all very different from the standard. The standard was soft and the trials were much more dense. When the sensory data was analyzed (Table 4) the variables can be compared to the standard. In this experiment, it was not the goal to match the standard in sensory qualities, nutritional qualities were more important. However, when dealing with consumers, it is important the consumers accept a product. Figure 3 shows, for color, that the coconut samples are the closest to the standard. The farthest from the standard are the rice variabilities. And the mixture of the rice and coconut is between the two in color ratings. This matches up with objective color data. Figure 4 shows, for aroma, that all samples smelled similar to the standard. The group that matched the standard most closely is the combination rice and coconut ice cream. Figure 5 shows, for texture, that all the samples varied even if they started with the same recipe. This is due to variability in ice cream freezers. They all worked on the same principle. They had spinning units that were surrounded by ice with salt to lower the temperature. The same amount of liquid was added to each freezer. However the liquid did not freeze the same amount and the textures were different. The objective data shows similar results as well. Figure 6 shows, for flavor, that not one of the samples came close to the desirable flavor of the standard. Figure 7 shows for overall acceptability, that the combination rice and coconut milk is the closest to the standard, but they are not that similar. The conclusion is that when trying to replicate the nutritional quality of the standard, the variables don t match the standard in color, texture, flavor, aroma or acceptability. For the future, this product should be evaluated for the sensory parameters and they should try to match the standard. As stated before, a product won t do any good in the marketplace if it is not liked by consumers. This product has too much cocoa which changes color and flavor to be less acceptable. The agave syrup also thins out the product. Possibly corn syrup may be a better alternative.
References Edy's. Web. 28 Sep 2009. <http://www.edys.com/brand/grand/flavor.asp?b=134&f=1587>. Halford, B. (2004). Ice cream. Chemical and Engineering News, 82(45), 51. Harris, Kimi. "Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream." The nourishing gourmet. 05 May 2008. WordPress, Web. 28 Sep 2009. <http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/05/chocolate-coconut-milk-ice-cream-2.html>. Heenan, C.N., Adams, M.C., Hosken, R.W., & Fleet, G.H (2003). Survival and snesory acceptability of probiotic microorganisms in a nonfermented frozen vegetarian dessert. Elsevier, 37, 461-466. Lightowler, Helen., & Davies Jill. (1998). The vegan dairy. Nutrition & Food Science, 3, 153-157. "Nuts, coconut milk, raw." Nutrition Data. Web. 28 Sep 2009. <http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/nut-and-seedproducts/3113/2>. Stahler, C. (2006). How many Adults are vegetarian?. The Vegetarian Journal, (6), Surapat, Somjit, and Pacharin Rugthavon. "Use of modified starch as fat replacer in reduced fat coconut milk ice cream." Kasetsart Journal of Natural Science. 37.4 (2003): 484-492. Print. WordPress, Web. 28 Sep 2009. <http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/05/chocolate-coconut-milk-ice-cream- 2.html>.
Appendix: I. Blank Sensory Evaluation Sheet Please evaluate each of the 10 samples for the following 5 qualities. Please rinse your mouth with water between each sample. Color 1=light 9= dark Aroma 1=undesirable 9=desirable Texture 1=slushy 9=creamy Flavor 1=unpleasant 9=pleasant Acceptability 1=unpleasant 9=pleasant 828 765 101 754 623 205 202 407 381 599 II. Sample Calculations Average Rating: (Sum of color ratings for 828)/number of samples (5+8+8+4+8+1+4+1+4+3)/10 = 4.6 Standard Deviation: (1/10)[(5-4.6) 2 +(8-4.6) 2 +(8-4.6) 2 +(4-4.6) 2 +(8-4.6) 2 +(1-4.6) 2 +(4-4.6) 2 +(1-4.6) 2 +(4-4.6) 2 +(3-4.6) 2 ] = 2.54 II I. Lab write-up (carbon copy sheets attached)