Evidence relating to the deleterious cardiovascular effect of excessive trans and saturated fatty acids consumption has resulted in concrete steps taken by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) toward complete removal of trans fatty acids and a reduction in saturated fat consumption. However, direct replacement of these fats is technically challenging due to their contribution to the mouthfeel and textural properties of food products. Oleogelation has recently gained popularity as strategy for transforming liquid oil into soft solid-like structured gels to obtain the functionality of trans and saturated fats in food products. The gel-like structure is achieved by oil entrapment within 3D network created by self-assembling molecules (oleogelators). Oleogelatores can be divided into two categories: (i) low and (ii) high molecular weight olegelators (LMOG and HMOG). Among food grade polymers, an example for HMOG, proteins offer the greatest potential as network-forming structurants since they are widely available, relatively cheap and are considered healthy ingredient in modern diet. As proteins typically show poor dispersibility in liquid oils, indirect approaches such as (i) solvent exchange procedure and (ii) emulsion/foam templated approach were previously proposed. Another approach suggested one-step heating homogenization process at high temperature for the fabrication of high oil protein stabilized emulsion gels. Such high processing temperature is expected to result in an oxidative deterioration of the oil medium.
We demonstrate, for the first time, a one-step procedure at moderate temperature for the fabrication of protein stabilized emulsion gels feasible for large scale production. The stability, structural, textural and rheology properties of various emulsion gel samples were characterized using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), texture analyzer and rheometer. The results demonstrate the promising potential of this system as fat replacer in food formulation including laminated bakery products, margarines and meat fat.
- Ina Nephomnyshy, Jasmine Rosen-Kligvasser, Maya Davidovich-Pinhas “The development of a direct approach to formulate high oil content zein-based emulsion gels using moderate temperatures” Food Hydrocolloids, 101, 105528 (2020).