Interactions between food components in ice cream. Part 1: unfrozen emulsions

Abstract Ice cream was manufactured on a pilot plant and the structure of the emulsion was estimated in terms of droplet size distribution and protein composition of the aqueous phase after homogenization (two stages: 19 MPa + 3 MPa, 70°C) and after ageing ( 18 h, 4°C). Four different factors were studied: the nature of the milk protein [skim milk powder (SMP), skim milk replacer (SMR) or whey protein concentrate ( WPC) ], the nature of the emulsifier (saturated monoglycerides or Sugin Fl50, which is apolysorbate 80-based emulsifier) and its concentration (0.17–0.67% w/w for Sugin F150; 0.20–0.54% wlw for saturated monoglycerides), and the amount of butter oil (8–12% wlw). Freshly homogenized mixes containing either SMP or an SMR were stable during the ageing stage, irrespective of the nature and the concentration of the emulsifier. WPC-based mixes, however, were destabilized after homogenization: this destabilization was found to be flocculation only, which shows that whey proteins are efficient against coalescence. The quantity of adsorbed protein per surface unit was systematically higher for SMP mix than for both SMR and WPC. After the ageing stage, the structure of the mixes containing monoglycerides or WPC + polysorbate 80 remained unchanged. However, polysorbate 80 used in combination with both SMP and SMR led to a destabilization of the mix during the ageing stage: this destabilization was found to depend upon the mass/surface ratio of polysorbate 80 to butteroil.