Structure and stability of edible oleogels prepared with different unsaturated oils and hydrocolloids

Abstract

SummaryEdible oleogels, with three oil types (olive, sunflower and flaxseed), hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) and xanthan gum (XG), as structuring agents, were developed using the emulsion‐template approach, and subsequent drying of the emulsions using conventional or vacuum drying. Our results showed that for both drying methods, well‐structured oleogels were obtained using olive and sunflower oils for the preparation. These oleogels showed oil losses ˂10% after 35 days of storage. However, unstructured non‐homogeneous oleogels were obtained when using flaxseed oil and conventional drying, while it was not feasible to develop flaxseed oleogel with vacuum drying. Oleogels showed interesting rheological properties, including a high oleogel strength with an elastic modulus of the order 104–105 Pa, weak dependence on frequency, and good thermostability. Moreover, high oxidative stability was obtained for olive oil oleogels, using both conventional and vacuum drying, and for sunflower oleogels using vacuum drying. Still, the initial oxidation rates of sunflower oleogels using conventional drying should be improved in future studies.