Quantifying rheology and texture of chocolate products with oleogels using fractional calculus

Oleogels, a novel technology for structuring fats, show great potential for partially or completely replacing solid fats in chocolate products containing unhealthy saturated fatty acids. However, how to maintain similar rheological properties and sensory texture attributes is a major challenge. Given the lack of a concise and effective mathematical framework, simulating the rheological response and quantifying the textural parameters of the hybrid oleogel-dispersed chocolate products, is complicated. In this work, the rheological power law behavior of hybrid oleogel-dispersed chocolate products is accurately captured by using a fractional constitutive mathematical framework with few constitutive parameters. The sensory texture parameter firmness is quantified on the basis of creep response. The rheological response and firmness index are linked together on the basis of the fractional derivative model. This work helps provide heuristic insights into the structure-texture engineering of this food type. Such insights may, in turn, guide the formulation and design of food products.