Ice cream is a very popular meal and is demanded all over the world. Some ice cream attributes suggest that this popular dessert can act as a functional probiotic food. This study; evaluated the possibility of producing probiotic cocoa ice cream, using Stevia as a natural sweetener. Stevia was replaced with 0, 10, 25 and 50% sugar-based ice cream formulations in samples containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, and the samples were tested for bacterial viability, acidity, pH and sensory evaluation in three replications in storage period of 1, 7 and 14 days. The highest count of Lactobacillus acidophilus in 10% and 50% samples contained 9.49 ± 0.20 and 9.19 ± 0.20 log CFU/g, respectively. The bacteria count in all samples was higher than the amount determined during the storage period. Increasing the amount of Stevia in the formulation resulted to a decrease in the sensory properties of the samples. Ice cream containing stevia seems to be used as a carrier for probiotic bacteria.

Keywords: Stevia, Cocoa ice cream, Probiotic, Lactobacillus acidophilus

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