Sucrose esters (SE) have been widely studied as emulsifiers to tailor crystallization in fats. Nevertheless, few studies have assessed the potential of SEs as oleogelators to structure oleogels. This study aimed to evaluate alternative routes that would improve the oleogelation capacity of commercial SEs with different Hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) values and evaluate the physical properties of the oleogels produced by different routes. Four SEs were evaluated (SP10-HLB2, SP30-HLB6, SP50-HLB11, and SP70-HLB15) using three oleogelation routes (traditional or melting, ethanol, and foam-template). Of all evaluated samples, only the SP50 ethanol route with 10 % SE showed a solid-like structure. This sample presented the highest hardness (0.4 ± 0.1 N) and elastic modulus (4589 ± 89 Pa). SP70 showed a potential oleogel after foam-template approach due to the higher oil binding capacity. SP10 was the only directly completely soluble SE in oil, although it formed a very liquid gel. SP30 did not show a potential or oleogel structure for any of the routes tested.
Keywords: Ethanol; Foam-template; HLB; Oleogels; Sucrose esters.
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