Freezing kinetics and microstructure of ice cream from high-pressure-jet processing of ice cream mix

The effect of high-pressure-jet (HPJ) processing (0–500 MPa) on low-fat (6% fat) ice cream was studied by evaluating physiochemical properties before freezing, during dynamic freezing, and after hardening. An HPJ treatment ≥400 MPa decreased the density, increased the apparent size of colloidal particles, and altered rheological behavior (increased non-Newtonian behavior and consistency coefficients) of low-fat ice cream mix before freezing. During dynamic freezing, the particle size and consistency coefficient decreased but remained higher in 400 MPa–treated samples vs. non-HPJ-treated controls at the conclusion of freezing. The resulting ice creams (400 and 500 MPa–treated) had similar hardness values (3,372 ± 25 and 3,825 ± 14 g) and increased melting rates (2.91 ± 0.13 and 2.61 ± 0.31 g/min) compared with a control sample containing polysorbate 80 (3,887 ± 2 and 1.62 ± 0.25 g/min). Visualization of ice cream samples using transmission electron microscopy provided evidence of casein micelle and fat droplet disruption by HPJ treatment ≥400 MPa. In the 400 MPa–treated samples, a unique microstructure consisting of dispersed protein congregated around coalesced fat globules likely contributed to the altered physiochemical properties of this ice cream. High-pressure-jet processing can alter the microstructure, rheological properties, and hardness of a low-fat ice cream, and further modification of the formulation and processing parameters may allow the development of products with enhanced properties.