Development and evaluation of a novel margarine using starch hydrogel combined edible wax oleogel bigels

Abstract

With heightened health awareness and regulatory guidelines, consumer preferences have shifted towards low/no saturated fat food products. Bigel has emerged as a viable solution for replacing saturated fat. In this study, a system based on bigel was developed using a potato starch-based hydrogel and a walnut oil/candelilla wax-based oleogel, and its quality characteristics including sensory properties, texture, rheology, crystal structure, solid fat content (SFC), and distribution uniformity of bigel were evaluated. The results indicated that the optimum ratio of oleogel (oil/wax = 25) to hydrogel (distilled water/starch = 30) for the prepared bigel-based margarine was 2:1 (w/w). The melting point of the bigel-based margarine ranged from 36.23 ± 1.966 °C to 44.53 ± 0.503 °C, with good plasticity, hardness, good thixotropy recovery and viscosity properties. The content of SFC was lower than 4%, the major crystal types were β and β′ polycrystalline and possessed a good homogeneity. Generally, the preparation of nutritious and healthy margarine based on bigel is practicable. This research may provide a theoretical basis and also focus on the practical development and application of novel lower-temperature spreadable margarines.