Impact of Mandarin Peel and Pulp on the Physicochemical, Rheological, and Sensory Characteristics of Low-Fat Ice Cream

Abstract

Consumer demand for low-fat products has increased due to their perceived association with reduced risks of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. Mandarin peel (MPE) and mandarin pulp (MPU) are rich sources of bioactive compounds, including dietary fibers, total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity (AA), and vitamin C that may help mitigate disease risks associated with high-fat diets. The effect of using 4% and 7% MPE or 10% and 15% MPU in the manufacture of low-fat ice cream (LFIC) on its quality properties was investigated. Full-fat ice cream (FFIC; 6% fat) and LFIC (1% fat) were used as controls for comparison. The low-fat mixes enriched with MPE significantly exhibited higher specific gravity (SG), rheological characteristics, overrun, TPC, and AA than LFIC control. Also, adding MPU increased freezing point depression, TPC, and AA. Using of MPE in LFIC significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the melting rate as compared to the LFIC control or MPU-treated ice cream samples. Sensory analysis showed that MPE-treated (4% and 7%) samples had higher overall acceptability scores throughout 30 days of frozen storage than LFIC and ranked a similar overall acceptability of a full fat control with decreasing production costs by 17.74% and 17.53%, respectively, while using MPU enhanced flavor intensity with slight improvement for body and texture. The results of the present study valorize exploiting of MPE up to 7% in developing a novel LFIC with strong AA, health benefits, and desirable sensory properties.