Iranian Researchers Use Salvia Hydrangea to Produce Tastier Ice Cream

In a study conducted by the researchers of Islamic Azad University (IAU), Quchan Branch in the Northeastern part of Iran and Mashhad Food Science and Technology Research Institute it was found that adding a natural ingredient which is Salvia Hydrangea plant can make ice cream tastier and adds to its quality.

In the research, the impact of Salvia Hydrangea extract in different rates of 0.1%, 0.5% and 0.9% on the physicochemical characteristics, structure parameters, concentration and consistency status, as well as the taste characteristics of ice cream were studied.

“Adding the Salvia Hydrangea extract to ice cream as an ingredient caused a significant decrease in pH and an increase in its volume and its resistance against melting. Also, by adding that ingredient to the ice cream formulation, the stiffness and stickiness of the increased significantly,” said Elham Mahdian, a member of the research team at the Department of Food Science and Industry, IAU, Quchan branch.

According to her, the findings of the taste assessment of our study showed that the ice cream containing 0.5% of Salvia Hydrangea extract had the highest popularity among the people who participated in the research.

The executive director of the study further said that the findings of the research showed that 0.5% of plant extract as an ingredient to the ice cream formulation can be proposed as a scientific recommendation as it adds to quality characteristics of the ice cream and, consequently, the marketability of the obtained product.

Salvia Hydrangea is a plant indigenous to North Khorasan province where the study was conducted.

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