Modulating edible-oleogels physical and functional characteristics by controlling their microstructure

The influence of co-oleogelators like lecithin or hydrogenated lecithin together with the addition of dispersed water droplets to modulate the microstructure and thus the physical properties of glyceryl stearate (GS)-corn oil oleogels was investigated by thermal profile, microstructure, hardness, and oil binding capacity (OBC). The addition of β-carotene (βC) was also assessed. With lecithin, crystallization and melting temperatures were reduced, resulting in less-ordered crystal networks with a lower hardness and OBC, while with hydrogenated lecithin, the opposite effect was observed. In the presence of water, oleogels became harder but more brittle. Finally, βC acted as a crystal modifier increasing the hardness and OBC in the presence of lecithin, but decreased these parameters in hydrogenated lecithin-containing and water-filled oleogels. This study provides a better understanding on how the composition of GS-based oleogels can affect their physical properties.

Development of an Emulsion Gel Containing Peanut Sprout Oil as a Fat Replacer in Muffins: Physicochemical, Tomographic, and Texture Properties

Peanut sprouts are known to increase their resveratrol content during germination, leading to cultivation in smart farms. Recently, peanut sprout oil extraction and sales have gained traction; however, processed foods utilizing peanut sprout oil have yet to be developed. In this study, water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion gels were structured with water, peanut sprout oil (PSO), sorbitan monostearate (SMS), and candelilla wax (CW) in different ratios, and their potential as shortening substitutes in muffins was evaluated on physicochemical and sensory properties. PSO comprised 67% unsaturated fatty acids and had higher phospholipid (17.97%) and resveratrol (15.95 µg/L) contents and antioxidant activity (71.52%) compared to peanut oil. The PSO emulsion gels were physically structured without changing their chemical compositions. The SMS and CW ratios were found to have a significant influence on the textural properties, solid fat content, rheology, and crystallization of the emulsion gels. The viscoelastic properties of the emulsion gels showed a higher storage modulus than loss modulus and increased with increasing gelator content. Muffins prepared with emulsion gels were characterized by a harder texture and larger pore size, while in the case of muffins mixed with a ratio of 25% SMS and 75% CW, there was no significant difference in overall preference of sensory evaluation compared to shortening muffins. Thus, these findings reveal the potential utility of PSO as a fat substitute and indicate that W/O emulsion gels are suitable for producing muffins without a loss of quality.

The Feasibility of Shellac Wax Emulsion Oleogels as Low-Fat Spreads Analyzed by Means of Multidimensional Statistical Analysis

Shellac wax-based oleogel emulsions were studied with a three level two factorial design in order to find an optimal formulation for a spread formulation. Rheological, textural, colorimetry, and stability analysis were conducted to assess the performance of oleogel emulsions. FTIR spectra were also compared. The similarities between the samples were studied using cluster analysis. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrates that (i) the texture is influenced by the wax concentration, (ii) the rheology and stability by both the considered numeric factors (wax and water concentration) and their interaction, and (iii) the color by both factors. The emulsions containing 7% (m/m) shellac oleogels behaved like the strongest systems, (G′ & GLVR > 30,000 Pa) and exhibited the highest value of the G′-G″ cross-over. The lowest oil binding capacity (OBC) was 99.88% for the sample with 3% (m/m) shellac and 20% (m/m) water. The whiteness index (Windex) varied between 58.12 and 78.50. The optimization process indicated that a formulation based on 4.29% (m/m) shellac wax and 24.13% (m/m) water was suitable as a low-fat spread.