Would you try ice cream made from horse milk? Scientists have revealed that not only can mare’s milk produce a “pleasant” tasting treat – but it could have health benefits too.
A new study published by researchers from the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Poland, in scientific journal Plos One found that mare’s milk is suitable for the production of yoghurt ice cream and ice cream with prebiotics and probiotics.
The researchers used pasteurised mare’s milk to prepare four different ice creams – with varying additional yoghurt cultures and sweetener inulin. Tests were then carried out to determine factors including how fast the ice cream melted, the consistency and creaminess, how the different ice creams tasted, their nutritional values, and overall appearance.
Although the ice creams melted quickly, the researchers believed this may be connected to the low fat rate. But the colour of all samples was perceived as “white-creamy and uniform” and they all had a “pleasant creamy taste”.
“Mare’s milk is suitable raw material for yoghurt ice cream and synbiotic ice cream production, which due to unique composition of mare’s milk may be perceived as valuable functional food, bringing benefits to consumer’s health,” concluded the researchers.
The researchers said that there had been a “growing interest” in the use of mare’s milk in food production.
“Over the recent years, consumers are more and more conscious about the impact of food on health and well-being. As a result, products with high nutritional value and health promoting properties are often preferred,” they said.
“Composition of mare’s milk is much more similar to human milk than cow’s milk, particularly due to low casein-to-whey protein ratio, low minerals content, high lactose content and high polyunsaturated fatty acids content. Furthermore, mare’s milk is a source of bioactive substances”.
Read the full study here.
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