Determining the influence of plant-based proteins on the characteristics of dairy ice cream

This paper investigates the functional and technological properties of proteins in the composition of dairy ice cream. The object of the research was the technology of ice cream with plant-based proteins. The problem to be solved was the improvement of physical-chemical and rheological characteristics of mixtures and ice cream with a low fat content by using moisture-binding structuring proteins of plant origin. It was established that pea protein concentrate has the highest foaming properties. Oat protein concentrate shows a moderate ability to form and stabilize foams, while soy protein isolate does not reveal this function at all. The presence of plant-based proteins in all ice cream mixtures increases their nominal viscosity, but the highest thixotropy is observed for the concentrate of pea (56.5–61.0 %) and oat (54.8–57.2 %) proteins. They form food systems with a pronounced coagulation structure, which are capable of self-repair of bonds during the maturation of mixtures for 8 hours. Soy protein isolate reduces the thixotropic ability of ice cream mixtures, which limits the expediency of its use. The defined physical-chemical indicators of ice cream make it possible to justify the rational content of proteins in the composition of ice cream, which is 1–2 % for pea protein concentrate and 1 % for oat protein concentrate. Data on the rheological behavior of ice cream mixtures do not always coincide with previously established patterns, which is due to the difference in chemical composition between the studied food systems, as well as methods of their preparation and use. The results of this work could be used in the technology of low-fat ice cream, as well as in compositions for new types of ice cream enriched with protein