
Advances in Colloid and Interface Science 322 (2023) 103051
Available online 14 November 2023
0001-8686/© 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Historical Perspective
A comparative study of the impacts of preparation techniques on the
rheological and textural characteristics of emulsion gels (emulgels)
Behnaz Hashemi
a
, Elham Assadpour
b
,
c
, Fuyuan Zhang
d
,
*
, Seid Mahdi Jafari
e
,
f
,
**
a
Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
b
Food Industry Research Co., Gorgan, Iran
c
Food and Bio-Nanotech International Research Center (Fabiano), Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran
d
College of Food Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, China
e
Department of Food Materials and Process Design Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran
f
Halal Research Center of IRI, Iran Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran
ARTICLE INFO
Keywords:
Emulsion gels
Hydrocolloids
Production methods
Rheology
Texture
Structure
ABSTRACT
A subtype of soft solid-like substances are emulsion gels (emulgels; EGs). These composite material’s structures
either consist of a network of aggregated emulsion droplets or a polymeric gel matrix that contains emulsion
droplets. The product’s rheological signature can be used to determine how effective it is for a specic appli-
cation. The interactions between these structured system’s separate components and production process, how-
ever, have a substantial impact on their rheological imprint. Therefore, rational comprehension of
interdependent elements, their structural congurations, and the resulting characteristics of a system are
essential for accelerating our progress techniques as well as for ne-tuning the technological and functional
characteristics of the nished product. This article presents a comprehensive overview of the mechanisms and
procedures of producing EGs (i.e., cold-set and heat-set) in order to determine the ensuing rheological features
for various commercial applications, such as food systems. It also describes the inuence of these methods on the
rheological and textural characteristics of the EGs. Diverse preparation methods are the cause of the rheological-
property correlations between different EGs. In many ways, EGs can be produced using various matrix polymers,
processing techniques, and purposes. This may lead to various EG matrix structures and interactions between
them, which in turn may affect the composition of EGs and ultimately their textural and rheological
characteristics.
1. Introduction
Besides existing as an emulsion, complex colloidal materials can also
exist as gels. Oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions based on uids can be
transformed into soft-solids known as emulsion gels or emulgels (EGs),
which can be conceptualized as either a network of cross-linked poly-
mers with embedded emulsion droplets (referred to as emulsion-lled
gels, or EFGs), or as a network made of occulated droplets [1] with
different physicochemical and physiological properties. EGs can be used
as fat substitutes and are the fundamental building blocks of numerous
meals, including cheese, yogurt, and sausage [2]. For bioactive com-
ponents like β-carotene, vitamins, probiotics, etc., EGs are effective de-
livery vehicles [2–4]. The restricted mobility of the embedded
components is made possible by the tight gel networks, which can also
Abbreviations: BSA, Bovine Serum Albumin; CAR, Carrageenan; CNPs, Colloidal nanoparticles; CL, Cross-linking; EDC⋅HCl, N-Ethyl-N
′
-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)
carbodiimide hydrochloride; EFGs, Emulsion-lled gels; EG, Emulgel; GA, Gum Arabic; GH, Gluconic acid; GDL, Glucono-δ-lactone; HUS, High-intensity-ultrasound;
HPH, High-pressure-homogenization; HSB, High-speed-blending; LCST, Lower Critical Solution Temperature; MP, Myobrillar protein; mTGA, microbial Trans-
glutaminase; MSPI, Microwave-modied soy protein; pI, Isoelectric point; PEs, Pickering emulgels; SPI-FA (AM), Soy Protein Isolate-ferulic acid-alkaline-method;
SPI, Soy Protein Isolate; SP, Soy Protein; TGA, Transglutaminase; tTGA, Mammalian Transglutaminase; UHP, Ultra-high-pressure; UHSPE, Unheated Soy Protein-
stabilized Emulsions; HSPE, Heated Soy Protein-stabilized Emulsions; WPI, Whey Protein Isolate; WP, Whey Protein; WBAX, Wheat bran arabinoxylan.
* Corresponding author.
** Corresponding author at: Department of Food Materials and Process Design Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources,
Gorgan, Iran.
E-mail addresses: zhang.fuyuan@hotmail.com (F. Zhang), smjafari@gau.ac.ir (S.M. Jafari).
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Advances in Colloid and Interface Science
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cis
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cis.2023.103051
Received in revised form 7 November 2023;