By THOMAS BERNSMEIER and OLENA URSOLOV
A sorbet resembling ice cream was already known in European antiquity, more than 2,000 years ago. A Greek poet describes it as being made from glacial snow with ingredients such as fruit, honey or rose water. Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically consumed as a snack or dessert. The ingredients are mainly liquids such as dairy milk or cream. It is flavoured with a sweetener like sugar, in addition with spices, such as cocoa or vanilla, and occasionally also butter and possibly egg yolk.
These also increase stability and shelf life. Simultaneously whipping or stirring while cooling the base mass and the food additives to below the freezing point, the ice mix incorporates air spaces and produces a cream without perceptible ice crystal formation. The result is a smooth, semi-solid and foamy suspension that solidifies on freezing to very low temperatures below -10oC. As its temperature increases, it becomes more malleable.
More sugar-reduced or sugar-free ice cream varieties are appearing on the market, mainly in Europe and the American food trade, often in 400ml portion sizes and labelled with calorie saving claims. The consumption of ice cream is higher than that of other confectionery, and analysts anticipate that it will evolve from an indulgence food to a staple in some regions. The prospect that consumption does not entail excessive calorie intake is attractive to consumers. Appealing to the industry are the gains associated with higher pricing for this type of food specialty compared to standard products.
Healthier lifestyle through sugar reduction
Healthy food and especially a reduction in sugar, fat and salt is one of the most dominant topics in the public health debate. Consumers are also increasingly following new trends such as vegetarianism and veganism. This has resulted in the development of new products promoting all manner of “free from” or “reduced”, high protein, dairy free, and vegan claims, with associated impacts on taste and texture.
However, the crux is that consumers rarely accept a compromise in taste and quality. Unfortunately, traditional ice cream has a high sugar and fat content, each up to 20%. Product developers are therefore in urgent need of innovations that result in equivalent products with the same pleasant taste and mouthfeel.
ERYLITE Erythritol in light protein ice cream Sugar reduction can be achieved in different ways – total sugar exchange, partial sugar exchange or stepwise sugar exchange over a period of time. Ice cream with no added sugar is readily available on the market.
However, it rarely compares favourably with sugar-containing ice cream in terms of taste and texture. The taste profile lacks the sugary sweetness, and the texture is affected by the deviating freezing properties of the ingredients. High-quality sugarfree ice cream requires a sugar replacement that demonstrates both the sweetening quality and the texture-building functionality of sugar. ERYLITE Erythritol largely meets these requirements.
Continue reading here. Published in Food & Beverage Asia April/May 2021 issue.
