Using Ethylcellulose to Structure Oil Droplets in Ice Cream Made with High Oleic Sunflower Oil.

In order to mimic physical characteristics of solid fat, ethylcellulose (EC) was used as an oleogelator in ice creams made with high oleic sunflower oil (HOSO). The aim was to improve structure of ice cream made with fully liquid vegetable oil by inhibiting droplet coalescence and to enable a colloidal fat network by making the oil droplets solid-like. Two different methods for incorporating EC into emulsions were developed, both designed to involve high pressure homogenization of ice cream mixes as in traditional ice cream production. Ice creams based on 10% HOSO and 1% EC (cP10 or cP20) were successfully made. Two types of emulsifiers in the ice cream formulations were tested: unsaturated monoglyceride (GMU) or saturated mono-diglyceride. GMU enhanced fat destabilization of ice cream resulting in coalescence of unstructured HOSO droplets. Presence of EC in HOSO based ice cream inhibited coalescence of oil droplets and the structure of the lipid phase resembled the small, evenly distributed fat globules in the reference ice cream made with saturated coconut fat. The resisting effect toward coalescence increased with higher molecular weight of EC, accordingly oil droplets made with EC cP20 were smaller compared to oil droplets containing EC cP10. EC did not increase the amount of air that was incorporated in ice creams based on HOSO, irrespective of the type of emulsifier. In general the overrun in HOSO-based ice creams (with and without EC) was considerably lower compared to ice cream made with coconut fat. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Interest for product development of ice cream based on unsaturated liquid oil is increasing. To compensate for the lacking fat crystals that provide structure and stability in traditional ice cream, the liquid oil is transformed into solid-like material by ethylcellulose (EC). The process of ice cream includes high pressure homogenization, and in order to adapt to this process step, two new methods of incorporation of EC into the oil of ice cream mixes were developed.

Association between the bovine milk metabolome and rennet-induced coagulation properties of milk.

The milk metabolomes of 407 individual Swedish Red dairy cows were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy as part of the Danish-Swedish Milk Genomics Initiative. By relating these metabolite profiles to total milk protein concentration and rheological measurements of rennet-induced milk coagulation together using multivariate data analysis techniques, we were able to identify several different associations of the milk metabolome to technological properties of milk. Several novel correlations of milk metabolites to protein content and rennet-induced coagulation properties were demonstrated. Metabolites associated with the prediction of total protein content included choline, N-acetyl hexosamines, creatinine, glycerophosphocholine, glutamate, glucose 1-phosphate, galactose 1-phosphate, and orotate. In addition, levels of lactate, acetate, glutamate, creatinine, choline, carnitine, galactose 1-phosphate, and glycerophosphocholine were significantly different when comparing noncoagulating and well-coagulating milks. These findings suggest that the mentioned metabolites are associated with milk protein content and rennet-induced coagulation properties and may act as quality markers for cheese milk.