• Physico-chemical changes during processing
and storage of ice-cream
• Role and mechanism of stabilizers and
emulsifiers in ice-cream
• Ice cream comprises a number of related
products, which primarily differ in the relative
quantities of ingredients rather than in
manufacturing technology
• Ice cream is a frozen dairy product consumed
in the frozen state where the freezing and
whipping processes are important unit
operations for the development of the desired
structure, texture, and palatability.
Ice cream has the following composition:
• Greater than 10% milkfat by legal definition, and usually between 10%
and as high as 16% fat in some premium ice creams
• 9 to 12% milk solids-not-fat (MSNF) – this component, also known as the
serum solids, contains the proteins (caseins and whey proteins) and
carbohydrates (lactose) found in milk
• Total solids 36-39 %
• 12 to 15% sweeteners: usually a combination of sucrose and glucose-
based corn syrup sweeteners
• 0.2 to 0.5% stabilizers and emulsifiers
• 55% to 64% water which comes from the milk or other ingredients
Good ice cream is characterised by:
• Smooth, creamy texture and mouth-feel
• Excellent melt-down properties
• No sensation of crystals in the mouth
• Limited change in properties during shelf-life
• A liquid that holds a lot of trapped air bubbles is
called a foam, so technically when ice cream finally
freezes we have a frozen colloidal foam. (gas in
liquid)
• Air pockets interrupt the liquid and solid ingredients
and make the ice-cream smoother and lighter.
Role and mechanism of stabilizers and
emulsifiers in ice-cream
• Emulsion: liquid droplets dispersed in another immiscible liquid. The
dispersed phase droplet size ranges from 0.1 - 10 µ m.
• Important oil-in-water food emulsions, ones in which oil or fat is the
dispersed phase and water is the continuous phase, include milk,
cream, ice cream, salad dressings, cake batters, flavour emulsions, meat
emulsions, and cream liquers.
• Examples of food water-in-oil emulsions are butter or margarine.
• Emulsions are inherently unstable because free energy is associated
with the interface between the two phases.
• As the interfacial area increases, either through a decrease in particle
size or the addition of more dispersed phase material, i.e. higher fat,
more energy is needed to prevent the emulsion from coalescing.
• Some molecules act as surface active agents (called surfactants or
emulsifiers) and can reduce this energy needed to keep these phases
• Foam: a gas dispersed in a liquid where the
gas bubbles are the discrete phase. There are
many food foams including whipped creams,
ice cream, carbonated soft drinks, mousses,
meringues. A foam is likewise unstable and
needs a stabilizing agent to form the gas
bubble membrane.
• Ice cream is both an emulsion and a foam. The milkfat exists in tiny globules
that have been formed by the homogenizer. There are many proteins that
act as emulsifiers and give the fat emulsion its needed stability.
• The emulsifiers are added to ice cream to actually reduce the stability of this
fat emulsion by replacing proteins on the fat surface (shown on the right),
leading to a thinner membrane more prone to coalescence during whipping.
• When the mix is subjected to the whipping action of the barrel freezer, the
fat emulsion begins to partially break down and the fat globules begin
to flocculate or destabilize.
• The air bubbles which are being beaten into the mix are stabilized by this
partially coalesced fat. If emulsifiers were not added, the fat globules would
have so much ability to resist this coalescing, due to the proteins being
adsorbed to the fat globule, that the air bubbles would not be properly
stabilized and the ice cream would not have the same smooth texture (due
to this fat structure) that it has.
Fat Destabilization
• While homogenization is the principal method for
achieving stabilization of the fat emulsion in milk, fat
destabilization is necessary for structure formation in
butter, whipping cream and ice cream.
• Fat destabilization refers to the process of clustering
and clumping (partial coalescence) of the fat globules
which leads to the development of a continuous
internal fat network or matrix structure in the product.
• Fat destabilization (sometimes "fat agglomeration") is a
general term that describes the summation of several
different phenomena. These include:
Coalescence:
• an irreversible increase in the size of fat globules and a loss of identity of the
coalescing globules;
Flocculation:
• a reversible (with minor energy input) agglomeration/clustering of fat globules
with no loss of identity of the globules in the floc; the fat globules that flocculate ;
they can be easily redispersed if they are held together by weak forces, or they
might be harder to redisperse to they share part of their interfacial layers;
Partial coalescence:
• an irreversible agglomeration/clustering of fat globules, held together by a
combination of fat crystals and liquid fat, and a retention of identity of individual
globules as long as the crystal structure is maintained (i.e., temperature
dependent, once the crystals melt, the cluster coalesces). They usually come
together in a shear field, as in whipping, and it is envisioned that the crystals at
the surface of the droplets are responsible for causing colliding globules to stick
together, while the liquid fat partially flows between them and acts as the
"cement". Partial coalescence dominates structure formation in whipped, aerated
dairy emulsions, and it should be emphasized that crystals within the emulsion
droplets are responsible for its occurrence.
Emulsifiers
• An emulsifier or emulsifying agent is a surface active
compound or substance that acts as a stabilizer for
emulsions preventing liquids that ordinarily don't mix
from separating.
• Emulsifiers commonly used in ice cream include
– mono-diglycerides (E471),
– lactic acid esters (E472b),
– Polysorbate 80 or Tween 80
– propylene glycol esters (E477) and blends of these.
Mechanism of action
Role of emulsifiers
• The greatly decreased fat globule size coupled with controlled de-
emulsification caused by emulsifiers, in essence, brings about the
development of the right kind of structure and corresponding
texture in ice cream.
• Improve whipping quality of the mix
• Help in production of drier ice-cream with a smoother body and
texture - The dry appearance of ice cream coming out of the freezer
is believed to be caused by several phenomena, one of which is an
emulsifier induced clustering of fat globules at the liquid air
interface. Also, more air cells of smaller size on account of presence
of emulsifiers appear to provide more surface with the available
liquid, which implies that the liquid is spread over a larger area.
• During ageing of ice cram mix, milk fat crystallizes, much of
crystallization taking place during the first hour. Presence of
emulsifiers leads to more extensive fat crystallization.
• The emulsifier caused protein desorption from fat globules
is time dependent and takes place during ageing. Further,
the initial desorption from the surface of the fat globules,
in the presence of emulsifiers, occurs as the removal of a
coherent protein layer rather than individual casein
particles. The process of deemulsificaiton continues into
the freezer to yield the desired body and texture.
• Propylene glycol esters in ice cream protect
against the Heat Shock Effect by ensuring
small ice crystals are created during freezing
and reducing their tendency to grow during
the journey to the consumer’s table.
Limitation
• The de-emulsification effect of emulsifiers is related not only to the
quantity of emulsifiers used but also to the fat content of the
product.
• With increasing emulsifier concentration, fat de-emulsification is
enhanced and beyond a certain limit, greasy texture and short body
result due to butter formation in the freezer. Higher fat levels
magnify this de-emulsification phenomenon.
• Thus, an emulsifier level just enough to provide the correct amount
of ‘partial churning’ is necessary, and less emulsifier is required in a
high-fat ice cream than in a low fat one.
• Excessive emulsifier may promote slow melting and curdy meltdown.
Stabilizers
• Stabilizers are water-soluble polysaccharide extracted from
land or marine plants or from micro-organisms. They are used
to influence the viscosity or gelling behaviour of solutions
which in turn helps to preserve emulsions.
Stabilizers used:
– Gelatin
– Locust bean gum
– Guar gum
– Xanthan gum
– CMC
– Microcrystalline cellulose
– Carrageenan
– Sodium alginate
Mechanism
• Capable of imbibing large quantities of water while still remaining dispersed in
water and forming colloidal solutions, stabilizers are functionally also termed as
hydrocolloids. The most apparent effect of stabilizers is the increased viscosity of
the continuous liquid phase. Upon hardening, the water content of ice cream falls
considerably with a concomitant increase in the concentration of stabilizer in the
liquid phase. The increased stabilizer concentration together with decreased
temperature greatly increases the viscosity, there by substantially reducing
diffusion and mobility of the liquid in the frozen product.
• Also, gel formation induced by stabilizer in the mix is believed to effect,
considerably, immobilization of the liquid.
• The movement of water is hindered partly by the ability of hydrocolloids to form
hydrogen bonds, too.
• Thus, refreezing of water that originated from melting of ice due to temperature
fluctuations would not permit the formation of large ice crystals.
Role of stabilizers
• In the mix: To stabilize the emulsion to prevent creaming of fat
• In the ice cream at draw from the scraped surface freezer: To stabilize the air
bubbles
• Control over crystal growth - In the ice cream during storage: To prevent
lactose crystal growth and retard or reduce ice crystal growth during storage
• Storage stability - to prevent shrinkage from collapse of the air bubbles and
to prevent moisture migration into the package (in the case of paperboard).
Shrinkage has been defined as the loss of volume in ice cream before any part
of the product has been removed from the container and is a special type of
weak-body and texture defect.
• In the ice cream at the time of consumption: To provide some body and
mouthfeel without being gummy, and to promote good flavour release
Improved melting resistance:
• The slow meltdown, slow serum drainage, good shape
retention, and slower foam collapse are some of the
desired important quality parameters of ice cream.
• If the product melts too fast, a messy situation can occur. A
fast-melting product is undesirable also because it tends to
become heat shocked readily. However, a very slow rate of
melting can also be indicative of defective ice cream.
• Hydrocolloids, due to their water-holding and
microviscosity enhancement ability, significantly affect
melting quality of ice cream.
• Stronger stand-up properties
• Protection from heat shock:- The smaller the ice
crystals in the ice cream, the less detectable they are
to the tongue. Especially in the distribution channels
of today's marketplace, the supermarkets, the trunks
of cars, and so on, ice cream has many opportunities
to warm up, partially melt some of the ice, and then
refreeze as the temperature is once again lowered.
This process is known as heat shock and every time it
happens, the ice cream becomes more icy tasting.
Stabilizers help to prevent this.
• There is an increase in mean ice crystal size each time the
temperature fluctuates.
• Stabilizers help create a situation where a higher
proportion of water which changes state during
temperature rise recrystallizes as small crystals.
• This is thought to occur through the formation of a system
(with high viscosity and /or a gel structure) which
immobilizes the melted water, thereby reducing the
degree to which it can migrate to existing ice crystals and
deposit on them when it refreezes.
•
• The net effect is to slow the rate of ice crystal growth
whenever heat shock occurs.
• Control over sandiness:-
– Sandiness is caused by lactose, and prevented by use of
stabilizers (CMC, natural gums,carrageenan, etc.
– which functions in a manner similar to control of ice crystal size
through decreasing the mobility of unfrozen water during heat
shock.
– This encourages the distribution of the crystallizing lactose over
a large number of small crystals rather than a lesser number of
larger crystals which ultimately grow to a size where they can
be perceived. Microcrystalline cellulose is particularly effective
in this function, probably by providing an additional seeding
function which encourages the development of small crystals.
Stability to air cells:-
• The structure which is established as water freezes
and stabilizer and its complexes are concentrated also
play a role in providing strength to the air cell wall.
Stabilizer are therefore involved in the amount of air
which is incorporated and the degree to which the air
cells are stable.
• Addition of stabilizer inhibited air cell coarsening (gas
diffusion and rupture) due to the increased viscosity
of the fluid phase.
• Changes in air cells during storage of ice cream occur due to three primary
mechanisms: disproportionation (Ostwald ripening), coalescence, and
drainage.
• The rates of change in air cells based on these mechanisms were found to
depend on both process conditions (storage temperature) and formulation
(emulsifier and stabilizer).
• Disproportionation, which develops due to differences in Laplace pressure
between air cells, may also be controlled by increasing viscosity of the serum
phase and forming a thick film on the surface of the air cells.
disproportionation of air cells is inhibited by addition of stabilizers.
• Drainage involves the rise of air cells and subsequent downward flow of the
serum phase due to gravity. The larger the air cell, the faster it rises. Drainage
by itself does not change the air cell distribution but rather changes the film
thickness between the air cells and promotes coalescence.
• Increasing the viscosity of the serum phase, which may be achieved by
addition of stabilizer or by decreasing storage temperature, is one way to
retard drainage.
Limitations
• production of undesirable melting characteristics, due
to too high viscosity
• excessive mix viscosity prior to freezing
• contribution to a heavy or chewy body
• Emulsifiers and stabilizers contribute to a great extent, to
the desired body and texture characteristics of ice cream
and frozen desserts. The mechanisms of their actions
have been studied extensively in recent times and their
role in conjunction with various processing steps have
been delineated by various workers. It is well recognized
that individual compounds vary considerably in their
emulsifying/ stabilizing effects and often a single
compound is not entirely satisfactory. Thus, a mixture of
two or more emulsifiers/ stabilizers is generally preferred
to overcome the drawbacks of individual compounds.
Wheying off
• Most of the stabilizers used in ice cream production
(locust bean gum, guar gum, carboxymethyl cellulose,
and xanthan) are incompatible with milk proteins and
will thus cause a phase separation known as ‘wheying
off’.
• Wheying off refers to the leaking of a clear watery
serum layer during the melting of ice cream, which has
an undesirable appearance. Xanthan gum is the most
incompatible with milk proteins, followed by guar gum,
and locust bean gum.
