A firm foundation for ice cream

by Lucia DeStefano

ike the blocks of an igloo, the ice particles in your favorite dish of butterscotch ripple give it a firm foundation that promotes good texture, quality and stability.

Food science professors Doug Goff and Doug Dalgleish and PhD student Kevin Segall are in the midst of a three-year-long project with Good Humour Breyers Canada, a subsidiary of Unilever in the United Kingdom, designed to improve the structure of ice cream.

"This is a good demonstration of university and industry collaboration in fostering knowledge that is useful to the partners and us," says Goff.

The researchers are exploring the structure established by fat and protein in ice cream when subjected to various processes and in the presence of different ingredients. By carrying out this background research, they will enable manufacturers to develop new and better products for consumers.

"Our forte at the university is the development of science and contribution to the overall knowledge of product development practitioners in the food industry," says Goff. "Our group is writing another chapter in the book on ice cream structure."

Ice cream contains four separate phases -- ice crystals, air bubbles, fat globules and an unfrozen serum phase. Each phase comes with its own unique set of problems. The researchers have found that the fat and protein together are responsible for a structural element that leads to smooth texture and good melt-down properties. Added emulsifiers also play a role. They're examining these interactions to gain a better understanding of the role of proteins in ice cream structure. They've shown that incorporating stabilizers greatly enhances storage stability.

Although ice cream is the focus of this project, the researchers anticipate that their findings could be used to improve the quality and shelf-life of other frozen foods without the use of additives.

Teaching the finer points of dairy delicacies

uelph's Ice Cream Technology Course is an annual one-week intensive training course for personnel from the ice cream manufacturing, supply and retail sectors. Food science professor Doug Goff has taught the technology-focused course for the past 10 years.

Each year, 30 to 40 people from across Canada -- and as far away as France, Italy, the Philippines and Barbados -- come to U of G for the course.

"Participants from the ice cream industry come to update themselves and to learn and improve their own knowledge," says Goff.

Participants are exposed to state-of-the-art processing and research, while building long-lasting relationships with fellow ice cream practitioners.

The course has been running at Guelph since 1914. Retired food science professor Sandy Pearson -- who taught the course from 1954 to 1984 -- will be honored June 21 with the dedication of the Pearson Room in the new Food Science Building. The room has been refurbished by the class of OAC 1963, of which Pearson was honorary class president.