DEVELOPMENT OF VALUE ADDED ICE CREAM USING AVOCADO FRUIT

Abstract

Ice cream is a frozen and flavoured food product containing milk as the main ingredient. These include whole milk, skimmed milk, cream, frozen cream, condensed milk products and milk solids. Freezing a pasteurised mixture of milk, cream, milk solid non-fat, sugar, emulsifier and stabilizers produces ice cream. Other ingredients include flavouring matters and water. Fruits, nuts, candies and syrups are optionally added into ice cream for flavour enrichment. Since it is deficient in proteins, vitamins and mineral salts, it cannot be used as the sole item of food. In ice cream manufacturing, first the ingredients were weighed and blended together to produce the “ice cream mix”. Then the mix was pasteurised. The mix was also homogenized which forms the fat emulsion by breaking down or reducing the size of the fat globules found in milk to less than l^m . The mix was then aged for at least four hours and usually overnight. After that mix was drawn into a flavour tank where liquid flavours, fruit puree, or colours were added. After the particulates have been added, the ice cream was packaged and was placed into a blast freezer at -30°C to -40°C. Value added ice creams are more popular among the people, because of the high nutritive value and flavour of the product. The purpose of this study is to develop a puree/sauce of Avocado with an extended shelf life, to introduce into the ice cream ,as a ripple. As well as an avocado ripple ice cream is new product to the market. The process involves preserving the avocado pulp in three different treatments. The samples were prepared by adding sugar and water to the fruit pulp and then 'Pasteurised the mix. And the second sample was prepared by adding sugar syrup to the pulp and the third sample was made mixed with powdered sugar. To all three different samples ascorbic acid was used as a preservative. A sensory evaluation was carried out to find out the best sample out of the three. Also microbiological tests were conducted to determine the microbial safety. From the findings of this study, if can be concluded that avocado pulp can be preserved in the form of puree/sauce by adding sugar and preservatives.