Development of reduced sugar tamarind sherbet added with fiber from malva nut gum

Abstract

Ice cream is a popular dessert that often has limited nutritional value due to a rich sugar and low dietary fiber content. This study aimed to develop a reduced sugar sherbet ice cream using monk fruit as a sugar substitute and malva nut gum to maintain quality and increase fiber content of the product. Sugar was reduced at different levels (20%, 35%, and 50% w/sugar) in combination with malva nut gum adding (0.2%, 0.4%, and 0.6%). The results showed that increasing malva nut gum content led to increased viscosity (117.37–183.70 cP) of the ice cream mixes and increased hardness (30.10–90.33 N) of the ice creams, while overrun (34.21–22.35%) and melting rate decreased. Total soluble solids decreased with decreased sugar content sugar reduction increased. In addition, higher malva nut gum levels resulted in the ice cream with darker and redder color. The pH increased (p < 0.05), while titratable acidity slightly decreased (p < 0.05) in with reduced sugar formulations. Sensory evaluation indicated that the formulation with 20% sugar reduction and 0.2% malva nut gum added had the highest overall liking score with a comparable level to the control sample. This study demonstrated that monk fruit could be used as a sugar substitute in sherbet ice cream, particularly with a combination with malva nut gum added to maintain the product quality.