Technology and quality of raspberry ice cream based on low-lactose yogurt

Abstract

Nutrition is one of the most important components of human life, and its quality significantly affects the health and active longevity of any person. Over the last few decades, the quality of dietary regimes has declined, especially in developed countries, where products that contain insufficient amounts of essential nutrients, particularly proteins, vitamins, and minerals, predominate. On the other hand, people have become less active, while the caloric content of diets has hardly changed, leading to an increase in diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. There is also a noticeable increase in the number of people, including children, suffering from alimentary diseases, having intolerances to certain food components, and allergies related to nutrition. Therefore, the production of food products for special dietary and health purposes is becoming relevant to meet consumers' needs. Dessert products are popular among the population, especially frozen desserts, including ice cream. Consumers are increasingly attentive to the naturalness of ice cream and are more carefully analyzing the ingredient composition of the product. Ice cream that contains no synthetic dyes and flavorings and has a lower sugar content is popular. The aim of the article is to scientifically justify and develop the technology for low-lactose raspberry ice cream, to determine its nutritional and biological value, and to assess its quality and safety. A scientific hypothesis has been formulated: the use of low-lactose raw materials will enable the creation of ice cream with improved nutritional and biological value, which will promote the expansion of product offerings recommended for people with partial lactose intolerance; the use of erythritol instead of sugar will allow for a reduction in the energy value of the dessert and make it suitable for people with diabetes and other consumers who are trying to lower their intake of simple carbohydrates in their diet. The technology for raspberry ice cream has been developed using low-lactose yogurt based on whey and erythritol as a sugar substitute; the nutritional and biological value of the ice cream (content of essential nutrients: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins) has been determined, as well as the organoleptic and microbiological indicators of the ice cream during storage. The results obtained indicate that ice cream based on low-lactose yogurt has an increased content of proteins and vitamins, and a reduced fat content compared to the control. Thus, the protein content increased by 85.7% compared to the control, which can be explained by the use of low-lactose yogurt, characterized by a high content of complete proteins. The fat content decreased by 74.86%, which contri­buted to a reduction in the energy value of the developed ice cream by 53.36%. The amount of lactose is 0.73 g per 200 g of ice cream, allowing the developed ice cream to be classified as low-lactose product. There is also an increase in vitamins, especially vitamin E and B1, which helps meet daily nutritional needs. The proposed technology for ice cream based on low-lactose yogurt allows for an expanded range of products in the restaurant industry, particularly frozen desserts, which in turn will help meet the needs of consumers requiring special dietary products, especially those suffering from complete or partial lactose intolerance. The low-calorie content of the developed dessert and the absence of sucrose make it recommendable for consumers with diabetes as well as for all consumers who are trying to reduce the intake of simple carbohydrates in their diets.