Compound grapeseed oil oleogel as a substitute for margarine: application in cookie dough and its impact on dough...

This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of substituting margarine (MG) with three types of compound oleogels at varying substitution levels (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) in cookie dough. The effects on dough properties were comprehensively analyzed, and molecular docking was employed to elucidate the underlying interaction mechanisms.

The results demonstrated that all three oleogel-based doughs (carnauba wax-bovine bone protein-grapeseed oleogel (CBG), beeswax-bovine bone protein-grapeseed oleogel (BBG), rice bran wax-bovine bone protein-grapeseed oleogel (RBG)) exhibited higher thermogravimetric losses (83.8%, 85.4%, and 84.1%, respectively) compared to the MG dough. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy revealed that oleogel addition reduced the β-sheet content while increasing the β-turn content of gluten proteins. Furthermore, the oleogels weakened the binding affinity between the dough matrix and water molecules, leading to reduced gluten hydration. At high substitution levels (50-100%), the doughs displayed a lower protein area percentage in the gluten network (< 39.23%), reduced gluten protein junction density (< 9.66 × 10^-4), and higher lacunarity (> 9.05 × 10^-2), which collectively facilitated the formation of a looser and more open gluten network. These findings were further corroborated by molecular docking results.

In conclusion, our findings suggest that the progressive replacement of MG with oleogel in cookies represents a viable strategy to enhance cookie crispness. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.