Application of camellia oil-based diacylglycerol and its solid fractions in soft ice cream

Ice cream products are sweet and rich in taste, which make them popular desserts among consumers. However, the high-fat and high-sugar contents in ice creams may result in multiple health conditions after prolonged consumption. Camellia oil-based diacylglycerol (CD) oil can reduce the body fat accumulation due to their different metabolic pathways from triacylglycerol (TAG) oil. It is believed that the long-term consumption of CD can improve human’s health by lowering the plasma TAG and blood sugar levels. Nevertheless, CD is unsuitable for direct application in ice cream products due to its low solid fat content (SFC). Therefore, in the present work, fractionation was attempted to increase the SFC of the CD. Subsequently, camellia oil, CD, and its solid fractions were characterised and further incorporated in ice cream formulations. It was found that fractionation significantly (p < 0.05) increased the SFC of the CD. The solid fractions of CD exhibited similar physicochemical properties with the oils/fats commonly used for ice cream production, namely palm olein and milk fat. At 0°C, the SFC of the CD solid fractions was 29.33%; whereas at 37°C, the SFC decreased rapidly, which enabled them to melt quickly in the mouth. At the same time, CD solid fractions were rich in β'-form crystals which contributed to the rich, delicate, and smooth texture for ice cream products. The ice cream formulated with CD solid fractions showed better overrun (48.24%) and hardness (594.18 g) as compared to the ice creams prepared with camellia oil (with the overrun and hardness of 41.27% and 524.36 g, respectively) and CD (with the overrun and hardness of 39.77% and 284.31 g, respectively). The substitution of TAG with CD solid fractions made the formulated ice cream product a healthier dessert, and at the same time provided similar organoleptic properties as conventional ice creams.