Constructing restructured jujube using blackened jujube pulp and carrageenan to resolve Peel-induced rough mouthfeel

Blackened jujube offers improved nutritional value, while its peel-induced coarse mouthfeel limits its broader use in snack-style products. To address this limitation, this study proposes restructuring blackened jujube pulp into self-supporting composite gels using κ-carrageenan (KC). While neither 0.5% KC nor the pulp alone formed a self-supporting gel, composite gels containing 0.5% KC were observed to be self-supporting, indicating that the pulp matrix facilitates gelation at a lower KC level. Increasing KC from 0.5% to 2.5% progressively strengthened the network, increasing hardness from ~2.5 N to 16.7 N, water-holding capacity from 53.45% to 77.01%, and freeze-thaw syneresis from 68.94% to 26.69%, alongside network densification and T₂₂ shortening (75.8 to 37.0 ms). Sensory evaluation also confirmed that restructuring markedly reduced grittiness and improved overall mouthfeel. Overall, this work offers a practical strategy for converting fruit pulps into self-supporting composite gels, thereby enabling blackened jujube products with tunable texture and improved mouthfeel. The authors contributed equally to this work.