Scientists in Canada have shown that sausages can be made using vegetable oil and a gelling agent instead of animal fat, without altering the texture. With the continual push for healthy eating and eliminating saturated fat from our diets, this novel use of an ethylcellulose organogelator (oleogel) could be applied to substantially reduce the amount of saturated fat in foods.
According to the World Health Organisation, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and there is evidence that links the disease with high saturated fat consumption. Scientists have been investigating alternatives to hard fats (such as saturated and trans fats) to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. But, it is very difficult to find replacements, says lead researcher Alejandro Marangoni from the University of Guelph. ‘You are left with oil, which does not have any structuring ability,’ he adds.
Marangoni’s team made their oleogel using the gelling agent ethylcellulose, a known organogelator for vegetable oils. ‘We had to heat ethylcellulose up quite a bit to go in to triglyceride oils but once that happened, upon cooling, we found that a network formed and we had something almost as hard as a rubber ball!’ says Marangoni.
An oleogel (middle) was used to replace hard fat in a frankfurter. The image on the right is a scanning electron micrograph showing the texture of a soybean oil organogel
Read the full story in Chemistry World
Link to journal article
Mechanical properties of ethylcellulose oleogels and their potential for saturated fat reduction in frankfurters
Alexander K. Zetzl , Alejandro G. Marangoni and Shai Barbut
Food Funct., 2012, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C2FO10202A
