Physico-chemical and Sensory Properties of Red Palm Oil-based Ice Cream Using Maltodextrin or Modified Starch as Stabilizers

This study highlights the use of red palm oil (RPO) as an alternative to dairy fat in a hard ice cream sample in the presence of different stabilizers; maltodextrin (MALTOD) and modified starch (MSTARCH). No stabilizer was added in the control sample (CO), while the different ratios of RPO to each stabilizer were 4:1, 3:2, and 2:3, coded as MALTOD1, MALTOD2, MALTOD3 for maltodextrin, and MSTARCH1, MSTARCH2, and MSTARCH3 for modified starch, respectively. These samples were compared regarding overrun, physical, and sensory properties. For MALTOD, sample MALTOD3 had the highest overrun (49.31±13.78%), while MALTOD2 had the highest viscosity (7.90±0.03 Pa.s) and hardness (1.09±0.07 kg), and MALTOD1 had the lowest melting properties (61.10±0.20%). For MSTARCH, sample MSTARCH1 had the highest hardness (3.39±0.07 kg), MSTARCH2 had the highest overrun (67.64±2.27%), and MSTARCH3 had the highest viscosity (8.19±0.24 Pa.s) and the lowest melting properties (39.83±0.20%). Samples MALTOD3 and MSTARCH1 were selected for comparison with commercial samples in terms of sensory acceptance and preference. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the sensory acceptability of MALTOD3 and MSTARCH1. However, both samples received a significantly lower (p < 0.05) ranking than the commercial samples in terms of appearance, texture, flavour, meltability, and overall acceptance. Future studies are recommended to improve the RPO-based ice cream sample, particularly in terms of its sensory properties.