Better Tasting

Frozen sweet treats date back to ancient times, when only royalty had the resources to indulge in them. Today the aura of indulgence and decadence persists when one thinks of ice cream, despite its mass production and wide availability. But healthy-eating trends and public-health messages to curb fat, sugar and calories frequently land ice cream on the taboo list of foods to be consumed only on special occasions, if at all. Yet, in 2004, the International Dairy Foods Association (Dairy Facts 2005 Edition) reported that production of frozen dairy desserts was nearly 1.6 billion gallons, including 994 million gallons of regular ice cream and 430 million gallons of low-fat and nonfat offerings. This translates to about 15.4 pounds per capita for regular ice cream and 7.8 pounds per capita for low-fat and nonfat products.

In terms of type, hard frozen predominates the regular ice cream market with almost 90% of the production, while soft serve prevails in the low-fat and nonfat category with almost 70%. Vanilla ranks as the most popular flavor at 33%, followed by chocolate at 19% and nut and/or caramel at 7%.

The Code of Federal Regulations gives detailed definitions of composition, ingredients and manufacturing conditions for ice cream and frozen desserts. Basic requirements in the Standard of Identity include a solids level that is not less than 1.6 pounds of total solids to the gallon, and a weight of not less than 4.5 pounds to the gallon with a minimum of 10% milk-fat before the addition of bulky ingredients and 10% nonfat milk solids, with defined ratio of milk-fat to nonfat milk solids when the milk-fat is higher than 10% (21CFR, Pt. 135, Sec. 110).

Nutritional modifiers for ice cream define some “better-for-you” options for consumers. A reduced-fat ice cream is at least 25% lower in total fat than a regular ice cream identified on the label, while a light ice cream is at least 50% lower in total fat or has 33% fewer calories than the referenced product. To be labeled low-fat, an ice cream must contain no more than 3 grams of fat per one-half cup serving; to be labeled nonfat, the ice cream must contain less than 0.5 grams total fat per one-half cup serving.

Ingredient and processing modifications result in varying levels of fat, sugar and calories. The simplest modifications involve the amount of aeration, or overrun, and the level of milk-fat used to create super-premium, premium and regular ice cream. Regular ice cream meets federal requirements for overrun. Premium ice cream has a low overrun and more milk-fat than regular ice cream and contains higher quality ingredients. Super-premium ice cream, as the name implies, contains a high fat content and the best quality ingredients with a very low overrun. But qualifying for any of the “better-for-you” nutritional descriptors necessitates additional ingredient and processing changes.

Lowering the sugar load

Newer ingredients and greater understanding of the ice cream matrix greatly improves on the original versions of “no sugar added” and diet ice creams. Many choices for nonnutritive sweeteners and bulking agents help product developers achieve a creamy, good-tasting carbohydrate-modified ice cream.

Almost any non-nutritive sweetener will sweeten the mix. Aspartame and sucralose represent the most popular choices because they most closely mimic the profile of sugar. But adding bulk and replacing the freeze/thaw functionality of sugar requires a selection of other carbohydrate-based ingredients. Initially the main options included calorie-equivalent maltodextrins, and lower-calorie polydextrose and polyols, which have the potential of creating gastrointestinal distress in susceptible individuals. Some new ingredients overcome some of the negatives and add even more functionality.

One new product offering from SPI Polyols, New Castle, DE, is a specialty maltitol syrup. “It is a polysaccharide sugar and corn syrup replacer with an improved taste over conventional sugar replacers used in today’s nosugar- added formulations,” says Clement Opawumi, senior food scientist, at the company. “Sensory analysis conducted at Penn State showed that there was no significant difference between no-sugar-added ice cream made with our maltitol syrup and regular full-sugar ice cream.” He adds that maltitol syrup is not new, but this patent-pending version was especially developed for ice cream by creating different polymer lengths, so it more closely matches traditional sweeteners like sucrose and corn syrup.

According to Opawumi, this maltitol syrup offers many advantages when developing no-sugaradded formulations, especially its improved taste and texture with only 3 calories per gram on a solids basis, compared to 4 calories per gram in sucrose and corn syrup. And, he adds, “It is much better tolerated than sorbitol or lactitol.” Product literature cites a laxation threshold of greater than 100 grams per day.

One of the maltitol syrup’s greatest advantages is its functionality. “It is similar to sucrose and corn syrup in molecular weight; therefore, it behaves like sucrose and corn syrup in applications,” Opawumi explains. “It is 90% as sweet as sugar and its freeze-point depression is similar to sucrose and corn syrup.” He continues, “Freeze point affects the shelf life of the finished product. If the freezing point is too low, the ice cream is too soft; if the freezing point is too high, texture is hard or gummy. Usually, a combination of sorbitol or lactitol, maltodextrin and polydextrose with a high intensity sweetener is used to get the right freeze-point depression.”

Opawumi adds while this maltitol syrup can be used by itself in a nosugar- added formulation, it also works well with high-intensity sweeteners, such as sucralose or acesulfame potassium. “It provides bulk and requires no processing changes—if you can use corn syrup and sucrose, then you can use Maltisweet™ IC.”

Oligofructose dietary fiber offers another choice for adding bulk and some extra nutritional value when replacing sugar. “In ice cream, you use the fructooligosaccharide because it is more soluble than the longerchain inulin,” says Hilary Hursh, technical project leader, Orafti, Malvern, PA. “Plus the oligofructose is sweeter. Our oligofructose dietary fiber, with the new trade name Beneo, can replace a portion of the sugar. It can replace the bulk on a one-for-one basis, but you need to use high-intensity sweeteners with it. There is some calorie reduction because it has half the calories of sugar.” It provides only 30% the sweetness of sugar, but works well and has synergy with high-intensity sweeteners and polyols. With polyols, it masks the cooling, and with high-intensity sweeteners, it masks the off-flavors and allows formulators to use less.

“An advantage is that this oligofructose depresses the freezing point and helps to decrease ice crystals’ formation,” Hursh adds. “This adds stability to ice cream. There is some effect on viscosity—a slight increase but it is not significant in processing. It can be added by dry blending with other ingredients, and it has no effect on overrun.”

The introduction of an all-natural fat substitute in the early 1990s led to the introduction of the first fat-free frozen dessert with full-fat ice cream characteristics. Made from micro-particulated whey protein, this fat substitute imparts creaminess, inhibits ice crystal growth, and maintains texture, mouth-feel and melt due to its small, spherical, deformable globules averaging 1 micron in diameter. However, providing acceptable flavor in a fat-free system proved difficult, and slowly the return of a small amount of fat to create low-fat products with better flavor prevailed. Today, reduced and low-fat ice creams rely on combinations of various ingredients to replace fat’s functions instead of a specific fat-substitute ingredient.

Recreating richness

A “better-for-you” ice cream that re-creates the total sensory experience of ice cream stands the best chance for long-term success. The primary sensory experience of ice cream centers on creaminess and smoothness. Unfortunately, the key ingredients that create and control those attributes during processing and storage are the ones product designers target for reduction when trying to improve ice cream’s nutritional profile. The answer proposed by several ingredient manufacturers lies in the right blend of stabilizers and emulsifiers to create small crystals and the right texture.

The new generation of “light” ice cream products is driving interest in the ice cream market, says Don Heffner, market manager for frozen dessert, Kerry Bio-Science, Hoffman Estates, IL. He notes: “These products seem to appeal to people because they have a somewhat lower calorie count and fat level, while at the same time delivering acceptable taste and texture characteristics similar to full-fat ice creams. Some of these products use a low-temperature extrusion process which helps to give the product better texture due to smaller ice-crystal formation. The use of a sound emulsifier and hydrocolloid system is still important to give the products full-fat appearance and maintain freeze/thaw capabilities for adequate shelf-life.”

Gwen Meyer, technical director for dairy applications, Kerry Bio-Science, Hoffman Estates, IL, points out, “People eat with their eyes as well as their mouth. Texture is important to appearance and mouth-feel. What we see, the flavor release, smoothness and creaminess all contribute to the sense of quality and go hand in hand with the process.”

Product designers need to look at a number of considerations in formulating successful products. “The choice of emulsifier is critical,” Meyer says. “In lower-fat products, it is possible to emulate higher fat content by the selection and recommended use levels of certain emulsifiers. The ability to properly aerate light ice cream products is also affected greatly by the choice of emulsifier systems. The choice of hydrocolloids is also very important to air-cell stability, in addition to their water-binding properties. Low-fat ice cream products, in general, have weak-mouth-feel issues and often do not scoop well. Proper selection of emulsifiers and hydrocolloids can mitigate these issues and produce a product with full-fat ice cream characteristics. Heffner says, “Kerry has over 200 pre-existing texture systems that have been developed and sold for use in ice cream and frozen dessert products over the past 30 years on a global basis. We use these as starting points when we begin to work with a customer.”

Other suppliers also offer stabilizer/ emulsifier combinations designed to balance the system in sugar- and fat-reduced ice cream and frozen desserts. “We offer stabilizer blends that make up for the downfalls when you take out fat, such as texture, mouth-feel, melt-ability and extrusion,” says Erin Chavez, senior applications specialist, Degussa Texturant Systems, Atlanta, GA. “The other use is with polyols, where stabilizers help with the heat-shock stability of these formulations with slightly depressed freeze point.” The company offers products specifically for low-fat and no-sugar-added products.” She explains that from a manufacturing viewpoint, these stabilizers help with several issues: “For example, when fat is removed the matrix of the ice cream becomes less stable to melt-back. The correct use of stabilizer and emulsifiers helps build back this structure to delay the meltback and also helps with firm and dry extrusion during manufacture.” The company also offers highly functional blends of emulsifiers and stabilizers “designed specifically to give the texture of slow-churn ice cream,” she says. “Our stabilizer mimics the mouth-feel, so you end up with a product that is very creamy and decadent in reduced-fat formulations. The slow-churn process results in small crystals that make the product smooth and creamy.” She adds that these products are for those who cannot afford to add the expensive equipment required for slow churning.

Another option for consideration when trying to manipulate ice crystal size comes from Danisco USA, Inc., New Century, KS, which offers “a stabilizer system that is a blend of emulsifiers and hydrocolloid gums that creates the smallest ice crystals and maintains them,” says Mike Parsons, director of dairy sales at Danisco. “This means the shelf life is extended, and you can cut back on fat and solids.” He explains that the use levels and specifics of the blend depend on what the customer wants and the desired level of calorie or fat reduction. “There is a patent pending on the process. We use common emulsifiers not traditionally used in ice cream, such as propylene glycol monoesters and different hydrocolloids, depending on the price point,” he states.

StabilEase, a new ingredient from Blue Pacific Flavors, Inc., City of Industry, CA, is “a natural cream flavor system that has the added benefit in ice cream of reducing the quantity of ice crystals to create a creamier flavor and smoother texture with a more fatlike taste,” according to Walter Postelwait, vice president and general manager. The technology behind the ingredient was originally invented for beverages to prevent agglomeration in acid milk beverages. “When we investigated its freeze/thaw properties,” he continues, “we found it had a unique ability to lower the ice crystallization in the frozen beverage.” The company then took the original technology and made some modifications to create a product that reduces ice crystals and enhances creaminess in frozen products. He says it can be used in light ice creams to add back texture and fatty taste while improving the nutritional profile. In premium ice cream, it can reduce costs by allowing a milk-fat reduction. However, it is not intended to replace the emulsifiers in a formulation. This amber, viscous, pourable liquid gets added post-pasteurization along with other flavors at a recommended use level of 0.20% to 0.45% by weight. He says, “It is all-natural and is labeled in the finished product as ‘natural flavors and water.’”

Other systems combine high-intensity sweeteners with ingredients that provide the texture and taste of full-fat, full-sugar ice creams. Tate & Lyle, London, England, UK, uses sucralose in its sweetener “solution system” to achieve 40% overall caloric reduction, 85% fat reduction, 55% sugar reduction and reduced glycemic carbohydrates when compared to leading full-fat ice cream, according to product literature.

Cargill Inc., Minneapolis, recently introduced two sweetener systems for dairy products—one that blends acesulfame potassium, aspartame, calcium sulfate, carrageenan, cellulose gel, cellulose gum, erythritol, guar gum, maltodextrin, mono- and di-glycerides, polydextrose and salt, and one without the high-intensity sweeteners. Both reduce calories and sugar in ice cream formulations, but the one with the high-intensity sweeteners gives the opportunity for a no-sugar-added label claim, depending on the formula.

Healthier additions

Product developers rely on additions and inclusions to craft many of the truly indulgent ice cream flavors. For example, consumers in Consumer Insight Panels sponsored by the Hazelnut Council, Seattle, WA, described hazelnuts as “indulgent, distinctive, exotic, European, nostalgic, special and crisp,” and considered ice cream, chocolate and hazelnuts a perfect combination. Confectionary and baked goods also add an indulgent note to ice cream—plus calories, sugar and fat. Frequently, to make label claims, better-for-you ice creams need nutrient-modified versions of such goodies. “We make a variety of no sugar added and low fat items that are used as inclusions in ice cream, such as baked brownies, cookies, variegates and panned items,” Richard Hauber, director of research and development, frozen desserts, Kerry Sweet Ingredients, New Century, KS, says. “For no-sugar-added items, we use high-intensity sweeteners, usually sucralose alone or in combination with aspartame. For bulking, we use a lot of polyols and polydextrose; sometimes we use inulin. We choose polyol analogues functionally according to what is being replaced so we can get the same characteristics.

While removing excess calories, sugar and fat predominates the “better-for-you” ice cream world, ice cream’s attributes gives industry pause to consider it as a vehicle for adding healthy ingredients to the diet. For example, probiotics represent a healthful addition to some dairy products. “This year in our Danisco Knowledge Award contest, the second or third place winner was a student from Cal Poly who created an ice cream bar with probiotics, which we showed at WWFE last October,” notes Parsons. “And we have had some interest in it from companies. In Europe, probiotics are accepted, but not so much here.” He cautions that the viability of probiotics in frozen desserts is still an unknown but, hopefully, studies currently underway will answer this question soon.

Oligofructose can bring nutritional and health benefits beyond replacing sugar in ice cream. “One nutritional benefit is that it is a soluble fiber,” Hursh says, “and a nutrient content claim as a ‘good source of fiber,’ which is 2.5 grams, can easily be accomplished in ice cream. In addition, it is a prebiotic fiber so it is good for digestive health. A prebiotic is more stable than probiotics in a variety of processing and storage conditions.” She explains much research in the area of calcium absorption and bone health allows for a structure/function claim on labels. “With Beneo Synergy 1, studies showed a 20% boost in calcium absorption with a 2 gram serving. So with the calcium content of ice cream, this is a good application. Some recent studies also show an increase in bone density. Overall the benefit is an increase in dietary fiber and calcium absorption with lower calories. Also, because you replace sugar, the ice cream has a low glycemic effect,” she states.

In fact, a recent study funded by food-ingredients companies and conducted by scientists at Leatherhead Food International, Surrey, England, demonstrated that ice creams made with 15% oligofructose produced a glycemic response that was 70% lower than that produced after eating traditional ice cream in 12 healthy volunteers. Hursh says, “Our P95 is a powdered version of the one that was used in the GI studies and our Synergy 1 is used for calcium claims. With the P95 you need 3.75 grams/serving to make a calcium structure-function claim.”

Another interesting concept for adding nutrition and health benefits to ice cream with an indulgent flair also comes from the Kerry Sweet Ingredients group—an omega-3- infused chocolate coating. Beyond its heart-healthy fortification, this rich chocolate coating can add visual appeal, texture and indulgence to a variety of frozen desserts. Other possibilities for adding nutrition include using high antioxidant fruit juices and purees as variegates and flavoring.

As for the future role of “better-for-you” ice cream in enhancing healthful attributes of our diets, Parsons says: “Ice cream is seen more as an indulgent treat. It will take more education to get people to accept it as a healthy food. For years industry has been apologetic about ice cream and forgot about its nutritive value. So as we get more recognition of its inherent nutritive value, then we will get more recognition and acceptance of it as a vehicle for healthy ingredients.”

Angela M. Miraglio, M.S., R.D., is a Fellow of the American Dietetic Association from Des Plaines, IL. Her firm, AMM Food & Nutrition Consulting, provides communications and technical support to the food and beverage industry. She can be reached at ammiraglio@aol.com.

Non-dairy Delights

Soy ingredients offer opportunities to create an ice cream experience for people who avoid dairy for health or religious reasons. “There is increased market demand here and globally for soy-based frozen desserts. The retail market is pushing $100 million in U.S. sales,” says Tom Woodard, vice president for business development, Devansoy, Carroll, IA.

“Most of the good-quality soy-based products, such as soy smoothies, soy drinkable yogurt and other soy drinks, are very well accepted by health-conscious consumers,” says Mian N. Riaz, Ph.D., interim director, Food Protein R&D Center, and head, Extrusion Technology Program, Texas A&M University, College Station. He adds the number of supermarkets carrying soy-based frozen products is good proof that consumers are buying these products.

Soy-based frozen desserts also use soybean or another healthy fat to replace some or all of the dairy fat and, depending on the soy ingredient used, can add fiber and isoflavones to the mix, thus adding to a healthier profile, according to Jeff Liebrecht, a consultant with Innovative Food Solutions, Columbus, OH, who provides technical support to Devansoy. He adds that Devansoy’s ingredients are closer to the whole bean and thus retain many of its qualities. Woodward says, “All our products are non-GMO. We have organic as well as conventional ingredients.”

“Most frozen desserts use soymilk as an ingredient. Some other soy ingredients can also be used, such as soymilk concentrates or powder, tofu and isolated soy protein,” Riaz says. “Most of the processes are very similar to traditional dairy processing. The processor may need to slightly adjust their processing conditions (temperature) depending upon what kind of soy ingredients are being used in the formulation (regular soymilk, or soymilk concentrates, isolates, etc.).”

The biggest challenge is to achieve the desired overrun, Liebrecht says, which is difficult because soy protein is different from dairy. He states, “You address it with stabilizers and emulsifiers (and use) different ones and blends.” Soy-based frozen desserts are denser, richer and creamier, similar to premium ice cream, with ice crystal formation being controlled through stabilizers.