Utilización de bebidas vegetales de zapallo (Cucurbita moschata Duchesne) y de zambo (Cucurbita ficifolia Bouché) en la producción de helados con propiedades probióticas

Abstract

Today, the food industry has been affected by consumer demand for healthier foods and health benefits. One of the most prominent problems is dairy consumption and related diseases, such as intolerances, allergies and ethical concerns. For this reason, plant-based beverages have become a promising alternative for this problem. Eight treatments were carried out in which the formulation variables were the presence or absence of stabilizers (carrageenan and inulin) and the type of beverage. In the control treatments, the formulation without stabilizers was used for each beverage; in the first and second treatments, the zambo beverage with inulin and carrageenan, respectively, was used; for the third and fourth treatments, the zapallo beverage with inulin and carrageenan, respectively, was used. Finally, the fifth and sixth treatments used a mixture of both stabilizers in the zambo and zapallo beverage. The treatments were statistically analyzed by texture profile analysis (TPA) and the viability of the probiotic in each was determined. The formulation with the best physical properties was the one in which two stabilizers were used. In the TPA it was determined that the treatments with inulin and carrageenan had the most relevant results in terms of the mechanical characteristics of: hardness, adhesiveness, cohesiveness, elasticity and chewiness. The most adequate viability in terms of the probiotic was in the treatments with inulin as stabilizers, since this, in turn, worked as a prebiotic in the food.