Aplicación de fermentos con base en kombucha y kéfir con frutas ecuatorianas en la elaboración de helados

Abstract

Fermented foods have been staples of several global cuisines, and are gaining recognition for their potential health benefits and culinary versatility. Although food fermentation has been used for thousands of years, its benefits as potential nutraceuticals and gastronomic characteristics are relatively poorly understood. This project seeks to develop ice cream from kombucha ferments, water kefir and milk kefir that provide sensory profiles, with Ecuadorian fruits that promote gastronomic innovation. Through experimentation, ice cream bases were formulated from tree tomato (Solanum betaceum), naranjilla (Solanum quitoense), blackberry (Rubus ulmifolius), guava (Psidium guajava) and sapote (Pouteria sapota), to be applied to the three ferments in use, in order to preserve the sensory quality of the ferments and fruits. All processes were developed with good hygiene and food safety practices. The work was carried out in four stages: recipe development, fermentation, production, and acceptance evaluation. Milk and blackberry kefir ice cream had more favorable reception due to its excellence in sensory terms, on the other hand, kombucha and naranjilla ice cream was the least popular. The results obtained highlight the need to make some adjustments in the application of the ferments, in addition to the fact that, in processes such as fermentation and recipe formulation, the viability of the use of ferments in ice cream for the ice cream market was observed, contributing to a wide arsenal of flavor nuances, without altering the characteristics of an ice cream.