Can't Keep Your Ice Cream Creamy? Newly Developed Plant-Based Nanocrystals Might Just Help Preserve Frozen Products

Researchers at the University of Tennessee recently said they think they have discovered a plant-based additive to halt the formation of overly ice crystals, the reason we find the texture of our ice cream far more crunchy than deliciously creamy after melting.

As indicated in an Ars Technica report, the additive they found is more effective and inexpensive compared to the additives ice cream manufacturers are presently using. Also, as specified in this report, everyone has made the mistake of leaving a container of ice cream on the kitchen counter for quite too long.

Certainly, one can refreeze the half-melted dessert, although he may find that the texture, as mentioned, is far more crunchy than mouthwateringly creamy after.

'Food Science'

The study investigators presented their research at last week's meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego. The researchers presented their work at this past week's meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego.

According to food scientist Tao Wu, who specializes in carbohydrate chemistry, "food science is not cooking." He added, it is a multi-disciplinary field that uses biology, chemistry, and engineering to address real-world problems in food production.

For example, he elaborated, there is a need to use goo knowledge in chemistry to produce high-quality ice cream.

The basic science involved in ice cream-making is well-known. Physic students, in particular, have been known for using liquid nitrogen to make their ice cream in the lab.

Identifying Better Additives

A similar report from the Verified News Explorer Network specified that to guarantee that ice cream remains creamy, manufacturers usually add emulsifiers like lecithin and stabilizers such as locust bean gum, guar gum, and pectin.

Such stabilizers are helping the ice cream stay moisture during storage and slow the growth of ice crystals. Nonetheless, these additives are not very effective, explained Wu.

He elaborated that their performance is impacted by several factors, including storage time and temperature, as well as the ingredients' concentration and composition. Meaning, sometimes, they work in a single product, but not in another.

Moreover, Wu explained that exactly how these additives interact and inhibit ice recrystallization remains unclear. This most recent study's focus is to determine and test better additives.

Antifreeze Proteins

Min Li, an undergraduate student of Wu, said the team was inspired by the functionality and structure of antifreeze proteins found in some insects, plants, and fish that thrive in sub-zero temperatures.

Such proteins have also been seen to prevent the formation of large ice crystals. More so, the proteins stick to the ice crystals' surface, keeping them from clustering into larger crystals.

However, there is a limited supply, and the proteins are very costly, making them impractical for commercial application.

Previous studies suggested that the anti-freezing abilities of such proteins are coming from the fact that they have both a hydrophilic surface "with an affinity for water and a hydrophobic surface that repels water."

Cellulose Nanocrystals

Since cellulose nanocrystals have the so-called "amphiphilic" structure, the research team thought they might also inhibit the growth of larger crystals. Unlike the antifreeze proteins and commercial stabilizers, Li said Nanocelluloses are abundant, renewable, and low cost.

The researchers carried out their experiments with a model ice cream. Initially, the added cellulose nanocrystals had no impact on the ice crystals compared to a control model ice cream that did not have added nanocrystals.

The result changed after the ice cream was stored for several hours. Specifically, the nanocrystals prevented the growth of ice crystals entirely compared to the control model ice cream, in which larger crystals of ice still formed.

Moreover, as a result, the cellulose nanocrystals worked more effectively than commercial stabilizers when the ice cream got exposed to changing temperatures.

Related information about cellulose nanocrystals is shown on Alberta Innovates' YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Nanotechnology in Science Times.