Emulsion-template oleogels: Formation mechanisms, structural regulation, and potential as solid fat substitutes

Solid fats, including saturated and trans fats, provide desirable functionality, texture, and palatability to foods; however, they are associated with adverse health effects. Food industry is actively seeking alternative ingredients to replace solid fats while preserving the sensory and texture attributes crucial for consumer acceptance. The emulsion-template approach for gelling vegetable oils is a novel strategy to replace solid fats, offering advantages such as the use of safe and plentiful raw materials, mild processing conditions, a healthier fatty acid profile, controllable viscoelasticity, and enhanced capacity for nutrient or flavor encapsulation. However, achieving sufficient interfacial stability and robust network formation remains a technical challenge. To address this, physical and chemical methods are employed to modify the emulsifier, thereby optimizing the interface and the three-dimensional network of the oleogels and enhancing their rheological and textural properties. Processing characteristics such as oil-holding capacity, thermal stability, and rheological properties are important indicators for evaluating the applicability of prepared oleogels in food applications. Therefore, based on these indices, this review summarizes the performance enhancement mechanisms of emulsion-template oleogels and evaluates their texture and sensory impacts in meat products, baked goods, dairy products, and frozen foods as fat replacers. Finally, an outlook on the challenges and future prospects of emulsion-template oleogels was presented.