European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety

This study aimed to develop and evaluate conventional and plant-based ice cream formulations using coconut milk and germinated finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) milk, with particular emphasis on their physicochemical properties, proximate composition, mineral distribution and sensory acceptability. Four formulations were investigated: a conventional buffalo milk-based control, T1 (coconut milk-based formulation without finger millet milk), T2 (coconut milk and finger millet milk blend; 273:189 g) and T3 (coconut milk and finger millet milk blend; 156:312 g). The finger millet grains were soaked for 6–8 h, germinated for 24 h and processed to obtain millet milk. The formulations were evaluated for physicochemical characteristics, proximate constituents, mineral composition and sensory attributes using a nine-point hedonic scale. The results indicated a progressive decrease in pH (6.80 to 6.12), total soluble solids (36.00 to 25.00 °Brix) and overrun (75.00 to 49.00%) from the control to T3. Protein and total fat contents ranged from 2.50 to 3.70% and 9.80 to 13.00%, respectively. Among the experimental formulations, T3 exhibited the highest dietary fibre (1.50%), phosphorus (65.00 mg/100 g), magnesium (30.00 mg/100 g) and iron (1.10 mg/100 g), together with the lowest sodium concentration (44.00 mg/100 g). Sensory evaluation revealed that T1 achieved the highest overall acceptability score (8.50 ± 0.22) among the experimental formulations, followed by T2 (7.50 ± 0.28) and T3 (6.00 ± 0.35), whereas the conventional control recorded 9.00 ± 0.18. Thus, T1 demonstrated superior sensory acceptability among the plant-based formulations, while T3 exhibited advantages in selected nutritional parameters. The findings highlight the formulation-dependent trade-off between sensory acceptance and nutritional composition in coconut milk-based non-dairy ice cream incorporating germinated finger millet milk.