Organogels as novel ingredients for low saturated fat ice creams

The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of sunflower oil organogels made with phytosterols and γ-oryzanol as milk cream substitutes in artisanal ice creams. Fat amount (4 and 8 g/100 g) and type (milk cream, sunflower oil, and organogels containing two levels of gelators) were considered as factors. The higher fat amount significantly decreased density (1.08±0.01 g/mL vs 1.10±0.01 g/mL) and soluble solid content (27.2±0.3 °Bx vs 30.1±0.3 °Bx) of mixes, as well as ice cream overrun (31.1±0.6% vs 37.3±0.6%) and melting rate (2.5±0.1 g/min vs 2.9±0.1 g/min). The use of organogels with the highest gelator concentration yielded ice creams with quality characteristics comparable to those of the samples containing milk cream, and even better overrun (42.4±0.8% vs 37.1±0.8%) and melting starting time (20±1 min vs 16±1 min). Thus, the application of organogels in artisanal ice creams is a successful approach in order to obtain “low saturated fat” products (saturated fat < 0.9 g/100 g) “with added plant sterols and stanols” intended for people who want to lower their blood cholesterol level.