This study investigated whether the use of fermented milk with added dietary fibre in ice cream production positively affected quality characteristics, especially viability, during a shelf life of 90 days at −25 °C. For this purpose, fermented milk was prepared with cultures (yoghurt and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus) and dietary fibre (wheat fibre and inulin). In addition to the viable cell count, some related quality characteristics, such as the sensory, physical, chemical, and thermal properties, and energy content were also examined. Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus in all yoghurt ice creams and L. rhamnosus in ice cream with wheat fibre had the highest viability for 90 days, up to 95.95%. The best scores regarding “general acceptability” belonged to the ice cream with L. rhamnosus and inulin, with a score of 7.81 out of 9. The dietary fibre decreased overrun from around 23% to 14–18%, which was positive for the viability of the cultures. The cultures and dietary fibre decreased the melting temperature down to −1.15 °C. The caloric value of the ice creams (166–168 kcal/100 g) was lower than that of standard ice cream. Probiotic ice cream production with dietary fibre and a single L. rhamnosus culture may be preferred in terms of sensory properties, cell viability, and economic aspects.

The processing methods, especially cooking, can cause quality losses, particularly in the nutritional value of the fresh product. This study investigated the effects of preprocessing methods on the nutritional properties of pumpkin and the physicochemical and sensory properties of pumpkin yogurt. Two different pumpkin varieties (Cucurbita pepo and Cucurbita maxima) were subjected to three different preprocessing methods (freeze‐drying, boiling, and baking). Boiling significantly increased antioxidant activity (p ≤ .05), followed by baking. C. maxima had higher TDF and TPC than C. pepo, but in both pumpkin varieties, TDF did not change with heat treatment (boiling and baking), while TPC decreased. Mineral contents remained the same or decreased with heat treatment, except for Mn and Fe. In particular, the addition of C. maxima significantly affected the color parameters (L*, a*, b*) of yogurt and improved WHC (from 68.9% to 91.6%) and hardness (from 58.0 to 193.5 g; p ≤ .05). The sensory evaluation concluded that heat‐treated (boiled and baked) samples were preferred more than freeze‐dried raw ones. In conclusion, the results revealed that adding boiled and baked pumpkins, especially the preference for C. maxima instead of C. pepo, improved the quality parameters of yogurt.