Enhancing The Functional Properties and Nutritional Quality of Ice Milk with Sebesten Fruits (Cordia myxa L.)

SEBESTEN fruit pulp (Cordia myxa L.) as a source of fiber, minerals and antioxidants was used in functional ice milk manufacturing. Sebesten fruit pulp (SFP) contains 50.05% fiber, 9.41% protein, 22.1mg/100g vitamin C, antioxidant capacity and activity were 85μmole trolox/100g and 4.78%, respectively.Sebesten fruit pulp was added to the basic ice milk mix at levels 5, 10 and 15%. The basic ice milk mix was prepared using milk 3% fat and kept as the control treatment. Some rheological and functional properties of the resultant ice milk were measured. Using SFP in ice milk significantly increased the levels of total solids, protein, carbohydrates, ash, fiber, gross energy and minerals. Furthermore, using SFP caused increases in acidity, apparent viscosity, overrun, first drip time and complete melting times. On the other hand, decreases in pH values, freezing point, specific gravity and weight per gallon were observed compared to the control treatment. Sensory evaluation of the resultant ice milk samples showed that the most acceptable treatment was that using 10% SFP compared to the control sample. The obtained results showed that sebesten fruit pulp can be used as a functional ingredient in ice milk due to its flavour, natural antioxidant, fiber content and related health promoting characteristics.