Insights on oleogels for food applications: A case study

Oleogels are room-temperature solid or semi-solid substances structured from liquid oil using a vast array of possible gelators. The solidification is accomplished through physical structuring, without chemical modification of the triacylglycerols, to preserve the perceived health properties of unsaturated fatty acids. This thesis aims to gather knowledge on the existing research on edible oleogels and to explore the feasibility of wax-based oleogel as a fat replacement in an industrial context. Results show that candelilla and beeswax are more appropriate oleogelators compared to carnauba, such that they form stable oleogels at modest concentrations. As expected, increasing the wax concentrations resulted in better oil-holding capacity. The effects of co-crystallization of waxes were also explored in high-oleic sunflower oil and canola oil. The experiments demonstrated that a mixture of 2% w/w wax (50:50 beeswax and candelilla) was able to form stable oleogels. In this thesis, oleogels successfully replaced conventional fats in the preparation of cookies, brownies, cornetti, muffins, and vegan cheese spreads. Some of the oleogel-based samples were able to match, and occasionally surpass, the sensory attributes and overall acceptance of the control products made with butter.