Cold gelation of β-lactoglobulin oil-in-water emulsions

The cold gelation of beta-lactoglobulin emulsion gels was investigated in this work. The effects of oil and calcium concentrations on the rheological properties and structure of emulsion gels were studied using dynamic small strain rheometry and electron microscopy techniques. Results show that the storage modulus (G') is only affected by the oil content, the effect of which is greater than that of calcium. Emulsion gels with high G' and good water-holding capacity (WAC) were obtained by raising the oil concentration. In contrast, an increase in salt concentration reduced the WHC and changed the structure of the emulsion gel from fine-stranded to random aggregates. Oil and calcium regulated the process of gel network formation and modulated the functional properties of cold-set emulsion gels. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.