Emulsion gels of oil encapsulated in double polysaccharide networks as animal fat analogues

Abstract

The development of plant-based alternatives to replace animal products is crucial as the global population nears 10 billion by 2050, necessitating more sustainable food systems. Although efforts has been made in mimicking animal muscle textures using plant-based proteins, particularly the texturized plant proteins, the replication of animal fat properties remains challenging and less explored, particularly in light of recent commercial setbacks in the plant-based meat industry. Current study addressed this gap by investigating curdlan gum-konjac glucomannan (KGM)-pea protein emulsion gels as fat analogues, focusing on their stability and structure formation during cooking. We found that the use of a double polysaccharide network significantly enhanced the stability of emulsion gels, both before and after thermal processing, with controlled thermal history effectively guiding the gel morphology. Pea-protein-stabilised canola-oil emulsions (oil: 10–40 % w/w; protein: 5 % w/w) were blended with hydrated curdlan/KGM dispersions (total 4–7 %, w/w) and thermally set through a two-step heating regime (50 °C for 15 min, then 85 °C for 30 min) to form emulsion gels. Gels containing 6 % polysaccharide and 30 % oil exhibited only 57 ± 5 % oven shrinkage (pork fat = 63 ± 12 %), <15 % oil/water loss after five freeze-thaw cycles, and springness of 0.42 ± 0.05 (pork fat = 0.48 ± 0.06). Synchrotron-FTIR chemical imaging data confirmed the role of protein and polysaccharides in maintaining structural integrity, aligning with visual and rheological analyses. For the first time, we demonstrate that a sequentially gelled curdlan–KGM double network, reinforced by pea-protein interfaces, can lock sizable amounts of unsaturated oil into a cohesive matrix that reproduces the shrinkage, browning, and oil release of animal fat during cooking. This work therefore establishes a new, thermo-responsive route to plant-based fat analogues and offers mechanistic guidance for future meat-alternative formulations