1. Does the degree of ripeness of bananas used to make banana ice cream affect the overall preference of consumers?

2. OBJECTIVES To determine, using a “just right” scale questionnaire, which version of banana ice cream consumers prefer, ice cream made with ripe or overripe bananas. To determine if the degree of ripeness of bananas affects the flavor, color, sweetness and texture of the banana ice cream. To determine if it is possible to make an acceptable, cost-effective banana ice cream by using left-over, overripe bananas.

3. HYPOTHESIS RIPE bananas will create a thicker, tart ice cream due to the starch content. Ice cream made with the OVERRIPE bananas will result in sweeter ice cream that will have a creamy texture and better banana flavor. Consumers will therefore prefer the ice cream made with the overripe bananas

4. VARIABLE RIPEOVERRIPE

5. PRODUCTS PREPARED BANANA ICE CREAM MADE WITH RIPE BANANAS BANANA ICE CREAM MADE WITH OVERRIPE BANANAS CONTROLTEST PRODUCT

6. BACKGROUND BANANA RIPENESS SCALE Hard and Green1 Light Green2 More Green than Yellow3 50% Green - 50% Yellow4 5 6 7

7. BACKGROUND ENZYMES Enzymes are the major contributors to the ripening of fruit. Enzymes break complex molecules into smaller, simpler molecules. Bananas are 25% starch and 1% sugar in the unripe stage, but 25% sugar and 1 % starch in the overripe stage.

8. BACKGROUND FREEZING BANANAS Once that a banana has reached the desired ripeness stage, it can be frozen to preserve that level of ripeness without damaging the nutrient level of the fruit. Freezing converts water in cells into crystals which expand beyond the cell’s ability to contain them and they rupture. This has the effect of softening the pulp of the fruit thus making the fruit ideal for use in other recipes.

9. PROCEDURE CONTROL INGREDIENTS banana, ripe (stage 6) lemon juice light corn syrup vanilla bean heavy cream TEST INGREDIENTS banana, overripe (stage 7) SAME

10. PROCEDURE METHOD OF PREPARATION 1.Freeze bananas overnight. 2.Remove from freezer, thaw 45-60 minutes 3.Peel, put in food processor with lemon juice. 4.Process for 15 seconds. 5.Add corn syrup and vanilla bean seeds - mix 6.Slowly pour in the heavy cream and process until smooth. 7.Chill mixture in fridge until it reaches 40° F. 8.Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s specs. 9.Place mixture in an airtight container and freeze for 3-6 hours before serving.

11. CONSUMER SURVEY CAFE Commons 31 Students & Faculty were tested 2 Banana Ice Cream Samples one made from RIPE bananas one made from OVERRIPE bananas Water to cleanse the palate between samples Script to provide instruction to tasters “Just Right” Survey Forms

12. “JUST RIGHT” SURVEY SURVEY ASKED THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS REGARDING EACH SAMPLE 1. How would you describe the banana flavor of the ____________?  too little just about too much banana flavorright banana flavor 2. How would you describe the color of the ___________________?  much just about much too brownright too yellow 3. How would you describe the sweetness of the _______________?   much just about much too tart right too sweet 4. How would you describe the texture of the __________________?   much just about much too light and airy right too heavy and rich

13. PREFERENCE QUESTION Of the two samples, which do you prefer, and why?

14. EXPERIMENTAL ERROR #1 Question re TEXTURE may have been worded improperly. This might have prevented consumers from answering the survey accurately. OUR VERSION: 4. How would you describe the texture of the_____________?   much just about much too light and airy right too heavy and rich SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENT: 4. How would you describe the texture of the ____________?   much just about much too grainy right too smooth

15. EXPERIMENTAL ERROR #2 We used RIPE bananas (stage 6 – completely yellow, no green tips or brown flecks) for the Control. But, the ice cream had a very starchy texture and tart banana flavor of a banana that was not ripe (such as stage 5 – yellow with green tips). This affected the acceptability of the ice cream made with ripe bananas.

16. RESULTS TABLE Banana Flavor, Sweetness and Texture were superior in the ice cream made with overripe bananas. The color of the ice cream made with ripe bananas was rated as superior to the color of the other.

17. BANANA FLAVOR

18. COLOR

19. SWEETNESS

20. TEXTURE

21. CONCLUSION #1 Results Table and Consumer Survey indicate that ice cream made with overripe bananas is tastier, sweeter and has a better mouth feel than ice cream made with ripe bananas.

22. CONCLUSION #2 The consumer survey nevertheless shows a very clear overall preference for the ice cream made with overripe bananas. Ice cream made with ripe bananas is more yellow and therefore closer to what consumers expect banana ice cream to look like.

23. CONCLUSION #3 Chefs must be aware of the effects of enzymatic action on foods and what food characteristics will be affected by those actions. Chefs must use enzymatic action to their advantage as much as possible. In the narrow sense of this experiment, banana ice cream will be better if it is made from bananas that are overripe.

24. CONCLUSION #4 FUTURE EXPERIMENTATION Since all fruit becomes sweeter as it ripens, the question arises whether the best fruit flavor will always come from overripe fruit or might the tart juices of some fruits actually produce greater fruit flavor.

25. WORKS CITED IMAGES Bunch of Bananas - Stage 6 - AREA ROSSA - ITALY. Accessed 05-May-2 2005 Banana Sundae (Stage 5). D'Log. Accessed: 05-May-2005 Banana Papers.. Justpaper!Com - Banana Paper. Accessed: 05-May-2005 Overripe banana.. Webssite: http://yaxu.org/words/. Accessed: 05-May-2005 Bowl of Ice Cream drawing. Website: Home-made Ice Cream © By Grady L. Duncan 12/11/01. Accessed: 05-May-2005. 5 6 7