Investigation of sensory quality characteristics of ice cream produced from buffalo milk-Kütahya province sample

Buffalo milk is a raw material in the production of many food products thanks to its rich nutritional composition. Buffalo milk has higher fat, dry matter, protein and lactose content compared to cow milk. This supports the formation of a denser and creamier structure in ice creams. This study was conducted to determine the sensory properties of ice creams produced from buffalo milk and to present them to consumer appreciation. Buffalo milk ice creams were evaluated considering the criteria of coldness intensity, sourness, viscosity, oiliness, consistency, smoothness, color and appearance, taste balance, odor, melting speed and general liking. In the sensory analysis, a hedonic scale was used that allows scoring between 0 and 10 in terms of liking level. Sensory analyses were carried out on Day 1, Day 15 and Day 30, and 17 different trained panelists who took the "Sensory Analysis in Foods" course participated in the analyses. The obtained data were statistically analyzed and interpreted in the SPSS program. According to the evaluations of the panelists; The ice cream type with the highest coldness intensity was determined as strawberry. While the ice cream with the most intense sourness intensity was lemon, the ice cream with the highest viscosity was tahini ice cream. The ice cream with the highest oiliness perception was again expressed as tahini ice cream. Tahini ice cream received the highest score in terms of consistency. While tahini ice cream stood out in terms of smoothness, the most positive evaluation was given to chocolate ice cream in terms of color and appearance. Tahini ice cream was the most liked ice cream in terms of taste balance. Tahini ice cream was stated to have the highest odor intensity; vanilla ice cream was the type of ice cream that melted the fastest. The ice cream with the highest score in terms of general appreciation was vanilla flavor. In addition, these findings provide important clues in terms of consumer profile. It can be said that buffalo milk-based ice creams are rich and open to variety in terms of both structural and taste and aroma properties, and thus have the potential to appeal to different consumer profiles.