516

Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol. 2008, 110, 516520

Research Paper
Use of fat replacers in the production of reduced-calorie vanilla
ice cream
Vildan Aykan1, Emel Sezgin1, Zeynep B. Guzel-Seydim1, 2
1
2

Department of Dairy Technology, Ankara University, Diskapi, Ankara, Turkey

Department of Food Engineering, Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey

The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of different fat replacers on the sensory and
texture attributes of vanillin-flavored ice cream. Inulin is a fairly new fat replacer which has been proven to
be a health promoter. Two vanilla ice cream formulations were produced using different ratios of inulin
and Simplesse as fat replacers to provide better flavor and textural properties. Aspartame and acesulfamK were used as sweeteners in the low-calorie ice creams. Sensory and instrumental analyses were used to
evaluate the texture quality of light (4.55%) (control group), low-fat (2%) and fat-free vanilla ice creams.
The experimental mixes were significantly more viscous than the control mix due to the water binding
capacity of carbohydrate- and protein-based substances. The texture scores of the ice creams (sensory
evaluation) paralleled the viscosity values. Ice creams manufactured with fat replacers were free of cookedmilk flavor. The energy value of ice cream was reduced compared to full-fat ice cream (207 kcal/100 g): by
75% for non-fat ice cream, 71% for low-fat ice cream and 41% for light ice cream. An increase in total
solids in the mix resulted in better texture, a lower melting rate and better shape retention.
Keywords: Fat Replacer / Ice cream / Inulin / Simplesse

Received: November 19, 2007; accepted: January 22, 2008

DOI 10.1002/ejlt.200700277

1 Introduction
In Turkey, there is a trend towards the increased consumption
of reduced-fat products due to well-known health problems
related to dietary saturated fat. As a result, there is a demand
for low-fat products. One area where this potential exists is the
production of fat-free or reduced-fat dairy products. Light,
low-fat and non-fat ice creams have undesirable flavor and
textural properties since fat is the major carrier of many flavor
compounds [1, 2]. The structure of ice cream is a three-component foam made up of a network of fat globules and ice
crystals dispersed in a highly viscous aqueous phase [3]. It was
suggested that improvements in product formulations for
lower-fat ice creams were required to deliver the level of quality expected by consumers.
Fat replacers are important alternatives. Simplesse is a
microparticulated whey protein that is widely used as a fat
replacer in dairy products. Inulin, however, has not been used
Correspondence: Zeynep B. Guzel-Seydim, Department of Food Engineering, Suleyman Demirel University, 32260 Isparta, Turkey.
E-mail: zeyneps@sdu.edu.tr
Fax: 190-246-2370437

2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

in dairy products yet. Fibers should be included in the diet

since they have beneficial effects for human health, with a
recommended daily intake of 0.0250.030 kg/day for adults
[4]. Inulin is a storage carbohydrate consisting of a chain of
fructose molecules with a terminal glucose molecule. It may be
classified as a fructoligosaccharide and is present in more than
30,000 vegetable products [5]. Amongst these vegetables,
chicory roots are used for the production of inulin on an
industrial scale. It was discovered that inulin could act as a
substitute for fat with the advantage of having a very low
caloric value [6]. It behaves as dietary fiber, contributing to the
improvement of the gastrointestinal conditions [7]. Inulin and
oligofructose caused a significant reduction of DNA damage
[8]. Johannsen [9] reported that inulin has no toxic effect and
is recognized as safe in the human diet. Inulin has been
thought of as a prebiotic; some studies showed that it stimulates the growth of bifidobacteria, which are regarded as beneficial strains in the colon [10] and have been shown to inhibit
colon carcinogenesis in laboratory animal models [7, 11].
Inulin has also been reported to influence serum and liver lipid
concentration, short-chain fatty acid concentration in the
cecum, and fecal lipid excretion in rats [12]. Furthermore,
inulin is recommended for diabetics; since it is not absorbed, it
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Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol. 2008, 110, 516520

does not affect the blood sugar level. Acesulfam-K and

aspartame have no effect on the blood sugar level and have no
toxic effect in animals [13]. Use of inulin in low-fat plain-settype yogurts was acceptable [14]. Ohmes et al. [2] compared
fat-free ice creams prepared using various whey protein-based
fat replacers such as Dairy-Lo, Prolo 11 and Simplesse 100. It was reported that the ice creams had a cooked
flavor due to the addition of the protein-based fat replacers.
The aim of this study was to investigate the quality properties and sensory acceptability of low-calorie vanilla ice
cream products using different fat replacers and sweeteners.

2 Materials and methods

2.1 Manufacture of ice cream
The ingredients used in this study were provided by companies as follows: non-fat milk powder (Arla Food Ingredients,
Denmark), butter (Birtat Co., Ankara, Turkey), Raftilin-GR
(.90% inulin, ,4% glucose and fructose; Orafti, Belgium),
Simplesse 100 (Nutra-Sweet Kelko Co., San Diego, CA,
USA), oligofructose (Orafti, Belgium), maltodextrin
(Roquette Co., France), acesulfame-potassium (Vita Sweet),
stabilizer (Danisco, Copenhagen, Denmark), Admul MG
4143 emulsifier (mono- and diglyceride) (Quest, The Netherlands), vanillin (Euro Vanillin, Norway).
The results of preliminary studies on flavor and mouth feel
were used to determine the concentrations of fat replacer,
sweetener, stabilizer and vanillin. Table 1 shows the constituents of the ice cream mixes. Ice cream was produced at the
Dondo Ice Cream Co. (Ankara, Turkey). For each sample, a
100-kg batch of ice cream mix was prepared. Three types of
ice cream were produced, a control group of light ice cream,
formulations of reduced-calorie and non-fat ice cream,
respectively. The control was produced from non-fat reconstituted milk, water, butter, sucrose, glucose, stabilizer, emulsifier and vanillin. Smaller amounts of butter, inulin and Simplesse as fat replacers, aspartame and acesulfame-K as
sweeteners, and maltodextrin and oligofructose as bulking
agents were used for the production of reduced-fat ice cream.
For the non-fat ice cream, ingredients were the same as for the
reduced-fat ice cream formulation except that no butter was
used. The recipes of the ice creams are shown in Table 1 and a
flow diagram for ice cream production is outlined in Fig. 1.

517

Table 1. Formulations of ice creams.

Ingredients

Control
(light ice
cream)
[%]

Low-calorie
reduced-fat
ice cream
[%]

Low-calorie
non-fat ice
cream
[%]

Non-fat milk powder

Fat
Sucrose
Glucose
Stabilizer
Emulsifier
Vanillin
Maltodextrin
Inulin
Oligofructose
Simplesse
Aspartame
Asesulfame-K
Total solids
Water

9.1
4.6
17.4
2.72
0.4
0.2
0.003

11
1.6

11

0.21
0.4
0.003
7
5.7
6.5
0.6
0.04
0.02
33.1
66.9

0.21
0.4
0.003
7
6.2
5.4
2.744
0.04
0.02
33.0
67.00

34.42
65.58

Figure 1. Ice cream production.

2.2 Mix and ice cream analyses

Titratable acidity, as % lactic acid, viscosity and protein stability tests were performed on the ice cream mixes [15, 16].
The samples of ice cream were analyzed for fat [16], pH (Nel890 pH meter), total solids with the gravimetric method,
% overrun [6], melting rate and shape retention [16, 17].
Sensory analyses were performed by ten panelists using a
complete randomized block design [6]. All samples were
2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

coded with three random digit numbers and the serving order
was also randomized. The sensory evaluation ballot used is
shown in Table 2. The assessments were conducted at the
Department of Dairy Technology, Ankara University, Ankara,
Turkey. Panelists, with previous knowledge of sensory analysis
of dairy products, expectorated all samples as well as a cracker
and water that were used to clean the mouth between samples.
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V. Aykan et al.

Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol. 2008, 110, 516520

Table 2. Sensory evaluation ballot.

Property

5 Points

4 Points

3 Points

12 Points

Color and appearance

Normal ice cream color

and appearance

Yellowish color

Abnormal color

Very bad unexpected

appearance, discoloration

Texture

Normal and smooth texture

Icy texture, low overrun

Gummy texture, coarse icy

very hardened texture

Taste and smell

Excellent ice cream flavor

and aroma, vanillin flavor

Sweet taste, vanillin flavor

Cooked flavor, whey flavor,

syrup flavor

Astringency, abnormal taste

Overall acceptability
(Total scores)

Excellent
(1315 points)

Good
(1012 points)

Fair
(9 points)

Bad
(,9 points)

Table 3. Energy values of ingredients.

Table 4. Properties of non-fat milk powder and butter.

Constituent

Energy [kcal/g]

Property

Non-fat milk powder

Butter

Sucrose
Fat
NFM
Maltodextrin
Inulin
Oligofructose
Simplesse
Aspartame
Asesulfame-K

3.87
8.79
4.27
3.84
1.0
1.6
2.44
4.0
4.0

Moisture [%]
Total solids [%]
Fat [%]
pH
Lactic acid [%]

3.7
96.3
0.2
6.52
0.13

13
87
86
5.40
0.10

Table 5. Some properties of the ice cream mixes.

Properties

The caloric values (kcal) of the ice cream samples

were calculated according to Marshall and Arbuckle [18].
The kilocalorie values of the ingredients are shown in
Table 3.
The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) by the Statistical Analysis Systems. Duncans multiple range test was used to compare the means when a significant variation was established by ANOVA at the significance
level 0.05 (p ,0.05). The experiment was replicated twice
with duplicate samples.

3 Results and discussion

The properties of the non-fat milk powder and butter are
given in Table 4. Table 5 shows some properties of the ice
cream mixes. The acidity of the control samples was significantly lower than that of the experimental mixes (p ,0.05)
due to its lower protein concentration. The control mix had
the lowest viscosity value. Since the experimental mixes contained the carbohydrate-based fat replacer inulin and the
bulking agents oligofructose and maltodextrin, they were significantly more viscous (p ,0.05). It has been reported that
carbohydrate-based fat replacers have a high water binding
capacity [1821]. Bulking agents also increase the viscosity of
ice cream. The protein stability of the mixes was not signifi 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Control

Lactic acid [%]

0.19 6 0.01a
Viscosity [s]
45 6 0.00a
Protein stability
8 : 2a
(water/ethanol ratio)

Low-calorie
reduced-fat
ice cream

Low-calorie
non-fat ice
cream

0.49 6 0.007b
67 6 2.50b
5 : 5a

0.51 6 0.00b
121 6 1.00c
7 : 3a

a, b, c
Means within the same row with different superscripts are significantly different (p ,0.05).

cantly different (p .0.05). Marshall and Arbuckle [18] stated

that such properties as acidity, fat, non-fat dry milk and water
content may affect the protein stability.
Some important properties of the ice cream samples are
shown in Table 6. The pH of the ice cream samples was not
significantly different. There was no significant difference in
total solids between the samples (p .0.05), and means ranged
from 31.2 to 32%. The control contained 4.55% fat and classifies as light ice cream. Reduced-fat ice cream samples had
1.57% fat and low-fat ice cream samples had 0.2% fat and
classify as low-fat and non-fat ice creams, respectively [18].
Overrun values of samples were significantly different
(p ,0.05). There was less non-fat dry milk in the control formulation than in the other two formulations. Marshall and
Arbuckle [18] reported that a high concentration of non-fat
dry milk in the formulation of ice cream reduces the overrun.
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Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol. 2008, 110, 516520

519

Table 6. Some properties of the ice cream samples.

Property

Control

Low-calorie
reduced-fat
ice cream

Low-calorie
non-fat ice
cream

pH
Fat [%]
Total solids [%]
Overrun [%]

6.53 6 0.005a
4.55 6 0.05a
31.85 6 0.09a
80.08 6 0.96a

6.44 6 0.005b
1.57 6 0.02b
32.06 6 0.11a
72.91 6 0.55b

6.42 6 0.01b
0.2 6 0.00c
32.04 6 0.03a
77.95 6 0.33c

a, b, c

Means within the same row with different superscripts are significantly different (p ,0.05).

Non-fat samples had a higher overrun than reduced fat samples because of the higher concentration of Simplesse
(p ,0.05). Whey powders have a positive effect on the overrun of ice creams [18].
The melting rates of the ice creams were not significantly
different (p .0.05) (Table 7). Non-fat and reduced-fat ice
cream samples had a slightly lower melting rate due to the
higher water binding capacity of carbohydrate-based fat
replacers. Ohmes et al. [2] compared fat-free ice creams prepared using various whey protein-based fat replacers such as
Dairy-Lo, Prolo 11 and Simplesse 100. It was reported that
the ice creams had a cooked flavor due to the addition of the
protein-based fat replacers. It was also reported that ice cream
containing Dairy-Lo, a modified whey protein, had a slower
Table 7. Melting rates of the ice cream samples (%).
Time

6 min
First drip
30 min
60 min
90 min
120 min

Control

0
15.25 6 1.25 min
6.06 6 0.08
37.45 6 1.25
68.85 6 1.45
92.59 6 0.25

Low-calorie
reduced-fat
ice cream

Low-calorie
non-fat ice
cream

0
16.25 6 0.75 min
5.64 6 0.08
36.95 6 1.25
66.90 6 2.7
91.83 6 1.53

0
17 6 0.5 min
4.92 6 0.17
35.45 6 1.25
66.50 6 0.30
90.29 6 0.50

melting rate than the control sample. Shape retention values

are given in Table 8. The use of inulin in the ice cream formulation improved the textural properties. There were significant differences between samples after holding for 30, 60 and
90 min (p ,0.05). The energy value of the ice creams was
important because our purpose was the production of lowcalorie ice cream (Table 9).
Sensory evaluations and total scores of the ice creams are
shown in Fig. 2. The results showed that the average total
score of the low-fat ice cream was significantly better than
those of the other groups (p ,0.05). Adapa et al. [22] suggested using a good balance of fat, protein and carbohydrate
in the production of ice cream with desirable structure. The
low-fat ice cream that contained 1.5% milk fat, protein-based
and carbohydrate-based fat replacers had the highest overall
score. Cooked milk flavor in the ice creams containing protein-based fat replacers has been reported [2]. Our sensory
data showed that the ice creams did not have whey and
cooked milk flavor due to the addition of inulin as a fat
replacer.
Table 9. Energy values of the ice creams.

Fat [%]
Energy [kcal]
Energy reduction [%]$
Fat reduction [%]$

Control

Low-calorie
reduced-fat
ice cream

Low-calorie
non-fat ice
cream

4.55
109.06
41.31
62.08

1.57
58.17
71.89
86.91

0.2
51.44
75.14
98.33

kcal value of 100 g ice cream.

100 g of ice cream containing 12% fat has an energy value that is
207 kcal.
$

Table 8. Shape retention values of the ice cream samples.

Time
[min]

6
30
60
90
120

Control
[%]

100
85.99 6 1.79a
80.92 6 2.30a
59.76 6 0.78a
43.81 6 1.61a

Low-calorie
reduced-fat
ice cream [%]

Low-calorie
non-fat ice
cream [%]

100
95.85 6 2.07b
88.03 6 0.56b
69.49 6 2.17b
46.07 6 0.21a

100
97.12 6 0.73b
90.54 6 0.84b
71.73 6 0.14b
49.14 6 0.64a

a, b, c

Means within the same row with different superscripts are significantly different (p ,0.05).

2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Figure 2. Sensory evaluations of ice creams.

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V. Aykan et al.

4 Conclusions
Ice cream is a nutritional food having most of the milk constituents, which are fat and carbohydrate in high amounts,
protein and minerals, especially calcium, in moderate
amounts, and vitamins, especially riboflavin and fat-soluble
vitamins, in lesser amounts. However, due to its high calorie
value, people who have diabetes and who do not want to consume high-calorie food tend not to consume ice cream. In our
study, we used different recipes and made low-fat and non-fat
ice creams and compared those to light ice cream:
The experimental mixes were significantly more viscous
than the control due to the water binding capacity of carbohydrate- and protein-based ingredients. The texture scores of
the ice creams (sensory evaluation) were parallel to the viscosity values.
The energy value of the ice creams was reduced by 75%
for reduced-fat ice cream, 72% for non-fat ice cream and 41%
for light ice cream (control group) compared to full-fat ice
cream (207 kcal/100 g).
The increase in total solids in the mix resulted in a better
texture, a lower melting rate, lower overrun and better shape
retention. However, the control with a lower level of total
solids had the highest overrun. There was a negative correlation between the amount of total solids in the ice cream mix
and the overrun of the ice cream.
Sensory evaluation of ice creams showed that the low-fat
ice cream had a better taste and texture than the other types.
Especially, since inulin is a prebiotic, it will be very useful for
application in ice creams cultured with probiotic bacteria. It
has health benefits and also gives taste and texture to low-fat
ice cream.

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