Characteristics of palm oil-based oleogel and its potency as a shortening replacer

Abstract

This investigation aimed to determine the effect of beeswax (BW) and palm oil concentrations on the characteristics of oleogels which were then compared with a commercial shortening to evaluate their potential to be used as a shortening replacer. The characteristics of palm oil-based oleogel were investigated. Crude palm oil (CPO) and palm oil-based cooking oil (CO) are both rich in palmitic acid (C16:0), oleic acid (C18:1), and linoleic acid (C18:2), but the amount of total saturated fatty acids in CPO is higher than in commercial CO. The binary blends of palm oil (CPO and CO) and beeswax (BW) were used in various concentrations to prepare palm oil-based oleogel. Oleogels containing higher concentrations of BW had a greater oil binding capacity. The addition of BW produced needle-like and spherical crystals. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed a broad peak between 5.6° 2θ and 21.2° 2θ, (4.6 Å), resembling β polymorphism produced by monoacylglycerol aliphatic chains. The solid fat content of the CPO-based oleogel indicated that the product was more heat-resistant and had a profile more similar to shortening than the CO-based oil. As the BW concentration increased, the peak temperature of the sample also increased according to the differential scanning calorimetry analysis. The characteristics of palm oil-based oleogel products were comparable to that of commercial shortening; thus, they can be used as shortening replacers.