Texture and flavor switchable emulsion gels for replaced fat with improved mouthfeel and aromatic characteristics

Plant-based fat replacers have attracted considerable interest owing to their contributions to environmental sustainability, animal welfare, and health benefits. Their textural properties and flavor release behavior during processing are key determinants of their quality. Herein, a dual-network gel was produced using gellan gum and curdlan, which are thermally reversible and irreversible gel samples, respectively. Emulsion gel was produced by incorporating an emulsion as a fat substitute to the gel. The rheological properties of the samples were modulated through the addition of curdlan with a maximum storage and loss moduli of 1 × 10⁴ Pa and 1 × 10³ Pa, respectively. Furthermore, the emulsion gel successfully maintained its original morphology at increased temperatures. The curdlan content influenced flavor release at 150 °C when 1 wt% d-ribose and L-cysteine were incorporated. This study proposes a strategy that enables fat replacers to release meat flavor compounds during cooking.