Nanochitin as a functional thickener: enhancing rheology, microstructure, and melting stability of ice cream

Nanochitin is frequently employed as a thickener and emulsifier. In this study, the effects of nanochitin on the rheological properties of aged ice cream mixtures, the melting rate and microstructure of ice cream were evaluated by adding different concentrations of nanochitin to ice cream for the first time. The findings demonstrated that the incorporation of nanochitin into the ice cream mixture resulted in an increase in viscosity and had no significant effect on ice crystal size (< 50 μm). Furthermore, the addition of nanochitin resulted in the formation of a stable three-dimensional network structure within the ice cream. As the content of nanochitin increased, the rate of ice cream melting exhibited a gradual decline (from 78.81 % to 51.57 %). The findings of this study provided a real scene for the application of nanochitin in functional ice cream.