Crystallization and Structural Properties of Oleogel-Based Margarine

Interest in oleogel as a promising alternative to traditional hydrogenated vegetable oil has increasingly grown in recent years due to its low content of saturated fatty acids and zero trans fatty acids. This study aimed to develop wax-based margarine to replace traditional commercial margarine. The wax-based margarine was prepared and compared with commercial margarine in texture, rheology, and microscopic morphology. The possibility of preparing margarine at room temperature (non-quenched) was also explored. The results showed that the hardness of oleogel-based margarine increased as the BW concentration increased. Denser droplets and crystal network structure were observed with the increase in BW content. XRD patterns of oleogel-based margarine with different content BW were quite similar and structurally to the β′ form. However, the melting temperature of oleogel-based margarine was over 40 °C at each concentration, which represented a poor mouth-melting characteristic. In addition, the unique, improved physical properties of oleogel-based margarine were obtained with binary mixtures of China lacquer wax (ZLW) and Beeswax (BW), due to the interaction of the ZLW and BW crystal network. The rapid cooling process improved the spreadability of oleogel-based margarine. The margarine prepared by 5% BW50:ZLW50 had similar properties to commercial margarine in texture and melting characteristics (37 °C), which had the potential to replace commercial margarine