Research Article Comparative evaluation of structured oil systems: Shellac oleogel, HPMC oleogel, and HIPE gel

In lipid-based food products, fat crystals are used as building blocks for creating a crystalline network that can trap liquid oil into a 3D gel-like structure which in turn is responsible for the desirablemouth feel and texture properties of the food products. However, the recent ban on the use of trans-fat in the US, coupled with the increasing concerns about the negative health effects of saturated fat consumption, has resulted in an increased interest in the area of identifying alternative ways of structuring edible oils using non-fat-based building blocks. In this paper, we give a brief account of three alternative approaches where oil structuring was carried out using wax crystals (shellac), polymer strands (hydrophilic cellulose derivative), and emulsion droplets as structurants. These building blocks resulted in three different types of oleogels that showed distinct rheological properties and temperature functionalities. The three approaches are compared in terms of the preparation process (ease of processing), properties of the formed systems (microstructure, rheological gel strength, temperature response, effect of water incorporation, and thixotropic recovery), functionality, and associated limitations of the structured systems. The comparative evaluation is made such that the new researchers starting their work in the area of oil structuring can use this discussion as a general guideline. Practical applications: Various aspects of oil binding for three different building blocks wer