Identifying the wood type and investigating the quality of imported wooden ice cream sticks

The import of wooden ice cream sticks to Iran has always been criticized due to the existence of domestic factories. In this study, the type of wood used in imported ice cream sticks to the country was identified and some of their qualitative characteristics were investigated in hope that the results will be used by domestic producers. Classic (flat) and round ice cream sticks were obtained from Daity, Mihan, and Kalleh ice cream manufacturers. The results of wood identification showed that birch is the most used wood in making ice cream sticks, followed by beech. In terms of contact angle, surface roughness, and wood extractives, sticks made from beech wood (round Mihan) were different from other woods, but in sensory evaluation tests, round samples of Mihan and Daity, regardless of their wood type, received the highest scores. According to the results, the optimal properties of woods to be used as ice cream sticks were discussed.