Properties of margarines prepared from soybean oil oleogels with mixtures of candelilla wax and beeswax

Authors: Hwang, Hong-Sik; Moser, Jill

Submitted to: Journal of Food Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/13/2020
Publication Date: 9/16/2020
Citation: Hwang, H., Moser, J.K. 2020. Properties of margarines prepared from soybean oil oleogels with mixtures of candelilla wax and beeswax. Journal of Food Science. 85(10):3293-3302. https://doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.15444.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.15444

Interpretive Summary: Solid fats containing unhealthy saturated fats are widely used in many food products such as margarines, spreads, and other related foods. Oleogels have similar physical properties to those of conventional solid fats. Therefore, oleogels have drawn much attention as alternatives to conventional solid fats in food products. Oleogels are typically produced by dissolving a small amount of an oleogelator in vegetable oils or other healthy oils. Naturally occurring waxes are very promising oleogelators for this purpose due to their relatively lower melting points, strong gelation ability and low cost. Previous studies reported that firmness and melting properties of oleogels were improved when candelilla wax and beeswax were mixed, compared to those with pure waxes. Since the properties of oleogels can be altered when they are added in real foods, we have prepared margarines with these oleogels and tested whether advantageous properties of oleogels with the binary wax systems can stay in margarines. Margarines prepared from oleogels of candelilla wax and beeswax in soybean oil had higher firmness than those with pure waxes indicating the mixtures of waxes can be used to increase the firmness of wax oleogel-based margarine. Previously, it was reported that higher melting points of wax-oleogel based margarines than that of conventional margarines could be a potential problem. In this study, it was found that the melting point of wax oleogel-based margarine could be reduced by mixing these two waxes. From the overall properties of margarines in this study, it was concluded that properties of oleogel-based margarines such as firmness and melting properties can be improved by mixing two waxes.

Technical Abstract: This study aimed to examine physical properties of margarines prepared from oleogels with binary mixtures of candelilla wax (CDW) and beeswax (BW) in soybean oil. Although it was not as prominent as with oleogels, margarines made from oleogels with 3 and 5% mixtures of CDW and BW had slightly higher firmness than that with CDW and significantly higher firmness than that with BW. The DSC study showed eutectic melting properties of margarines with mixtures of CDW and BW, which were desirable, since one potential problem of wax oleogel-based margarines is their higher melting point than conventional margarines. The melting point of margarine determined by the major melting peak in DSC decreased with increasing the BW ratio to 25 and 50%. Whereas, further increasing the BW ratio to 75 and 100% increased the melting point. These margarines were also examined for dropping point and solid fat content (SFC), which are widely used conventional methods to evaluate margarine properties. SFC also showed the eutectic properties of margarines with the binary wax system, showing the lowest SFC values at 50 and 75% BW. However, the eutectic melting behavior was not shown in dropping point of margarines, which constantly decreased with increasing the BW ratio. This study showed that properties of oleogel-based margarines such as firmness and melting properties could be improved by mixing two waxes although physical properties of oleogels were somewhat altered after preparation of margarine.