ABSTRACT

Ice cream was produced from blends of tigernut milk and cow milk using synthetic food binders (gelatin and CMC) at the same concentration (0.5%, with 100% cow milk) and natural food binder (taro starch) at different concentrations (0.7% and 0.8%, with three blends for each concentration: 70% tigernut milk and 30% cow milk, 30% tigernut milk and 70% cow milk, 50% tigernut milk and 50% cow milk) to find the best concentration that will be a suitable replacer for gelatin and CMC. The ice cream made from 100% cow milk at 0.5% gelatin and 0.5% CMC differently served as the control samples 1&2 (301 and 401) respectively. The chemical and physical properties of the products were evaluated also the microbial analysis. The chemical composition showed that sample 101 (0.7% taro starch with 70% tigernut milk and 30% cow milk) had the highest percentage crude protein content of 3.06% which decreased as the concentration of taro starch increased while the control sample 2, 401 (0.5% CMC with 100% cow milk) had the least value of 2.29%. The percentage crude lipid content ranged from 0.76% to 1.61%, with samples treated with taro starch having higher value than the control samples. The ash content ranged between 0.3 8%. The percentage total solids decreased as concentration of taro starch decreased. The percentage TTA was highest in the control sample 2 (401) having a value of 1.3 1% and least value (0.61%) in sample 203 (0.8% taro starch with 50% tigernut milk and 50% cow milk). Percentage lactose content ranged from 3.01% to 4.17%. While pH values ranged from 5.21% to 6.29%. In terms of the physical properties evaluated: Foam stability and overrun increased with increase in taro starch concentration, but were significantly lower than CMC and gelatin. Viscosity ranged from 136.65rpm to 157.90rpm. Microbiological analysis showed the range of the total microbial load on different Medias as 2x103cfu/ml to 4.8x104cfu/ml. Finally, the results of the sensory evaluation showed that sensory attributes did not improve with increase in concentration of natural food binder (taro starch). This showed that 0.7% taro starch concentration was the best concentration to replace CMC and gelatin in ice cream.