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Hazelnut oil cake, a by-product in the cold-pressing of hazelnut oil, is a rich in valuable nutrients, which makes it a promising option for supplementation or as a raw material in the development of functional products. The aim of this work was to study the influence of partial or complete replacing of skim milk powder (SMP) with hazelnut press cake flour (HPCF) in varying ratios (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) on the physicochemical properties and sensory attributes of milk ice cream. The replacement modified the chemical composition of the ice cream mixture, resulting in a reduction (p < 0.05) of milk solids non-fat (MSNF), protein, and carbohydrates content, while simultaneously elevating the hazelnut content, and total fat content. This modification influenced the rheological characteristics of the ice cream mixtures, leading to an increase in the consistency coefficient from 1.32 to 7.66 Pa sn. Furthermore, a decline in overrun values (from 26.99% to 15.85%), an increase in hardness (from 6881.71 to 23,829.30 g), retarded melting properties, and variations in colour attributes were observed with higher concentrations of HPCF. In the sensory evaluation test, it was found that consumer acceptance was enhanced for the samples with partial substitution of SMP when compared to standard milk ice cream. The findings suggest that a replacement of milk powder with hazelnut cake by up to 75% is achievable, in order to obtain functional ice cream with adequate physicochemical and sensorial qualities.

This study investigated the sensory characteristics and overall acceptability of turmeric- and black-pepper-enriched ice creams. For this purpose, a control sample (C) and a series of flavoured ice creams were prepared as follows: samples with 0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.0% of turmeric powder (T0, T1, and T2), and samples with a mixture of turmeric (0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.0%), and 0.02% of black pepper (T0p, T1p, and T2p). Participants (n = 103) were asked to rate the acceptability of the ice creams using a nine-point hedonic scale, the liking of attributes by a five-point scale, the evaluation of attributes intensity by a just-about-right (JAR) scale, and attribute characterisation through a CATA test. They were also asked about their purchase and consumption intention of prepared ice cream samples. The addition of turmeric powder significantly (p < 0.05) affected the sensory properties of the ice cream, whereas no correlation was found between the addition of black pepper and consumers’ ratings of the evaluated samples. According to the results, besides the control sample, the ice cream with 0.5% of turmeric powder and 0.02% black pepper (T0p) had the most desired attributes and the highest score for overall liking (6.94). In conclusion, these valuable spices could be used in the production of ice cream with potential functional properties.

The Falling Number (FN) test is not suitable for the determination of α-amylase activity in malt flour because the amylolytic activity is too high to be determined by the FN instrument. The aim of this study was to modify the FN method to allow quantification of high α-amylase activity in malt flour. The modifications were performed in two ways: using different amounts of malt flour (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 g) or by using malt extracts (0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 mL). In both cases, 6 g of standard wheat starch was used as substrate. The results of the modified methods were compared with the α-amylase activity determined by the standard Ceralpha method. Linear and nonlinear exponential regression was used to calculate the predicted amylase activity, and Bland-Altman analysis was used to measure the agreement between standard and modified methods. The modifications of the FN method using 0.1 g of malt flour showed that the modified method was able to accurately measure high levels of α-amylase activity in malt flour, and the results obtained by the modified method were in agreement with the results obtained by the standard Ceralpha method.