It's bananas:scientists may have found the secret....The only thing that can ruin an ice cream cone on a hot summer day is the way it tends to melt down your hand into a sticky puddle. But Canadian scientists may have helped find a solution.
Researchers from Colombia as well as the University of Guelph have found that cellulose fibres found in banana plant stems help to hold ice cream together as it melts, thus increasing its shelf life, and adding creaminess and texture as well.
Researchers from Colombia’s Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, working with food scientists at the University of Guelph, recently presented their findings at the national meeting and exposition of the American Chemical Society.
Our findings suggest that cellulose nanofibers extracted from banana waste could help improve ice cream in several ways," lead researcher Robin Zuluaga Gallego, said in an ACS statement.
"In particular, the fibres could lead to the development of a thicker and more palatable dessert, which would take longer to melt. As a result, this would allow for a more relaxing and enjoyable experience with the food, especially in warm weather."
Scientists have long tried to figure out how to slow down ice cream melting, experimenting with cellulose from wood pulp, and polyphenol compounds from strawberries.
This new approach uses leftover banana stalks, which are usually considered waste after the fruit is harvested.
The stalks are ground up and then tiny cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) -- thousands of times thinner than a human hair -- are extracted and mixed into the ice cream.
The research team evaluated the effects that the CNFs had on the ice cream using tools such as a rheometer, which measures how much force is needed to move a fluid, as well as a texturometer, which measures the hardness of the ice cream.
They found that ice cream mixed with CNFs tended to melt much more slowly than traditional ice cream. They also determined that CNFs could decrease the dessert’s sensitivity to temperature changes that occur when moved to and from the freezer, thus extending its shelf life. In addition, the CNFs increased the viscosity of low-fat ice cream, which improved its creaminess and texture.
Research team member Jorge A. Velásquez Cock says CNFs could also potentially replace some of the fats -- and perhaps the calories – of ice cream. The researchers next plan to explore how CNFs interact with different types of fat, such as coconut oil and milk fat, in other frozen treats. CTVNews
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