Physicochemical properties and organoleptic aspects of ice cream enriched with microencapsulated pistachio peel extract

The purpose of this study was to produce a functional ice cream by the addition of microcapsules of pistachio peel extract (MPPE). Various properties of the resulting ice cream were investigated. By increasing the amount of MPPE the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity increased about 2.0‐ and 3.7‐fold, respectively, compared with the control sample. The rheological properties of the mixes were fitted by the Power Law model. All mixes showed non‐Newtonian pseudoplastic behaviour. By increasing the concentration of MPPE, the consistency coefficient (m), viscosity, and shear sensitivity were increased, but the flow behaviour index (n) decreased. The addition of MPPE to ice cream mixes improved the melting resistance, first dripping times and functional properties of ice cream such as antioxidant activity and total phenolic content. The results of the sensory analysis showed that the addition of MPPE had no significant effect on the overall acceptability of the product. Based on our findings, MPPE has the potential to be used as an added‐value ingredient in the ice cream industry to enhance the functional properties of their products.