The Influence Of Basil (Ocimum Gratishhimum L.) Seed Gum As A Stabilizer On The Viscosity, Physical And Sensory Properties Of Vanilla Ice Cream

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the influence of basil seed gum (BSG) as a potential stabilizer on the viscosity, physical, and even sensorial properties of vanilla ice cream. The functionality of BSG was also elucidated by comparing with cornstarch, one of the most common stabilizers applied widely in various foodstuffs, especially in ice cream manufacture. In general, the determination of the mix viscosity, overrun, hardness, microstructure, and melting behavior was carried out to find out whether any noticeable differences presented among ice cream samples that were prepared with different cornstarch:BSG weight ratios. The non-BSG sample with 100% concentration of cornstarch was chosen to be the control one. In case of other test samples, the certain amount of cornstarch was gradually replaced by BSG powder with its increasing fraction (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%). The obvious data showed that while the mix viscosity and hardness of ice cream rose significantly as the amount of BSG increased, the overrun and melting rate decreased. In terms of microstructure analysis, there was an intimate relationship between mix viscosity and air bubble size distribution during the freezing and storage steps. In addition to this, the sensory evaluation was also performed to determine the panelists’ preferences upon each sample in terms of color, odor, texture, taste, and overall acceptance. The best BSG-containing samples identified from the test were further compared with commercial products. The collected results indicated that in terms of color, odor, texture, taste, and overall acceptance, these selected samples had higher degrees of liking than those of commercial ones. To sum up, this project revealed that BSG had a high potential to be used as a stabilizer in food industry.