The aim of this study is to elaborate and evaluate structural characteristics of soybean gelato by varying the content of soybean protein concentrate (2.95 to 17.05%) and vegetable fat (7.95 to 22.05%) using experimental design. The replacement of milk by hydrosoluble extract and soybean protein concentrate presented itself as an alternative to gelato production with unique characteristics, especially in terms of protein, solubility, viscosity, melting point, overrun and acceptability. The addition of up to 5% (m/V) protein concentrate, 14% (by volume) soybean hydrosoluble extract, and 15% (by mass) vegetable fat to gelato formulations resulted in better structural characteristics, with viscosity ranging from 0.45-0.70 Pa∙s at 10 °C, a non-Newtonian behaviour and protein stability (total protein content 8.44% and solubility 41%). Soybean gelato structural analysis using X-ray diffraction revealed 15° and 35° diffraction angles at 2Θ, characterizing the crystalline part of the product. The thermal analyses showed four bands of mass loss in the temperature range of 40-600 °C, characterizing loss of moisture, decomposition of the soy protein and the fat/emulsifier of the formulations. Thus, the soybean gelato is an innovative product, lactose and milk protein-free with outstanding characteristics for the general public, mainly, for the populations with intolerance to such components.
Keywords: crystallinity; gelato; solubility; soybean; stability; viscosity.