Qualitative analysis of the structural, thermal and rheological properties of a plant ice cream based on soy and sesame milks

The aim of this study was to investigate the structural, physicochemical, and rheological properties of soy and sesame milk‐based ice cream in order to optimize its formula. The overrun percentage of the optimized ice cream was acceptable compared to the conventional ice cream (produced with cow milk). The hardness and consistency of the optimized ice cream were significantly (p < .05) higher than those of the conventional one, while its cohesiveness was lower. All the samples showed the pseudoplastic behavior and the power‐law model had a high efficiency (R (2) ≥ .99) in describing their rheological behavior. The lowest span value, the lowest mean particle diameter, and the highest mean particle surface area, and thus, the most stable and homogenous samples were associated with the conventional ice cream followed by the optimized plant one. The number of air bubbles in the structure of the conventional and optimized ice creams was significantly (p < .05) higher than in the other samples. The soy ice cream had the lowest T(g) (−58.04°C), whereas the conventional one had the highest T(g) (−55.05°C). Unlike the plant‐based samples, especially the soy ice cream, the conventional ice cream had the lowest ice content (IC), the highest unfreezable water (UFW), and the lowest frozen water (FW). Overall, this ice cream was more acceptable in terms of sensory attributes in comparison with the control sample and could be supplied to consumers as a novel, high‐quality, and marketable ice cream.