Features Production Research
Wine waste could boost stability and health profile of ice cream

April 8, 2008 – Wine lees, the
sediment left in the bottom of the barrel after winemaking, could boost
the antioxidant profile of ice cream and slow the melting time of ice
cream, suggests a new study from Taiwan.

April 8, 2008 – Wine lees, the sediment left in the bottom of the barrel after winemaking, could boost the antioxidant profile of ice cream and slow the melting time of ice cream, suggests a new study from Taiwan.

The melting rate of ice cream was reduced by up to 80 per cent when the grape wine lees (GWL) was added, and simultaneously boosting the antioxidant profile of the ice cream, report the researchers in the journal LWT – Food Science and Technology.

"In this study, we demonstrated that the addition of GWL could significantly increase the antioxidant activity of ice cream, and the antioxidant in the GWL appeared to be quite stable during the process of ice cream making," wrote lead author Jean-Yu Hwang.

"Therefore, GWL has the potential to be used as a value-added ingredient in ice cream industry to enhance the antioxidant."

Researchers from Chung-Hwa University of Medical Technology, National Kaohsiung Hospitality College, and Asia University formulated ice cream using 50, 100 and 150 grams per kg of the grape lees, and compared to an ice cream without the lees.

They report that the melting rate, firmness, pH, colour (lightness) and the amount of freezable water in ice cream decreased as a result of adding GWL, while increases in yellowness, viscosity, and the stability of fat particles were observed as a function of the dose used.

The melting rate was slowed by 32 per cent at the lowest GWL content (50 g per kg) and by more than 80 per cent at the higher concentrations.

"However, ice cream with high GWL contents also showed unpleasant effects, such as the decrease of overrun and the increase of particle size of fat globule," they stated. "These unwanted effects were minor at low GWL concentration."

In terms of antioxidant activity, an increase in the DPPH radical scavenging activity was observed, equally an improvement in the antioxidant profile of the ice cream.