Tuning the properties of plant-based whipped cream through zein nanoparticles-sodium stearate complex

The fabrication of plant-based whipped creams is proposed to reduce the high saturated fat content of regular whipped creams by using plant proteins and unsaturated oils. The lack of functionality of regular plant proteins and the absence of crystals in vegetable oils make this process challenging. Here, we hypothesize that the functionality of corn protein zein can be improved by the creation of zein nanoparticles-sodium stearate complex (ZNP-SS), and that monoacylglyceride (MAG) based oleogels can increase the solid fat content of vegetable oils. Therefore, plant-based whipped cream can be produced from oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by ZNP-SS and MAG. A serial of ZNP-SS was produced and characterized in terms of molecular interactions, wettability, and surface activity. Moreover, their ability to stabilize oil-in-water emulsions and foams in the presence or absence of MAG was evaluated. Results show that ZNP-SS complex were stabilized through electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. An increase in the amount of sodium stearate caused an increase in hydrophilicity, which improved the interfacial properties of ZNP-SS. Corn oil-in-water emulsions were successfully stabilized by all the ZNP-SS, while only the ones with the highest amount of sodium stearate (ZNP-0.6) were able to create stable whipped creams because of the partially coalesced oil droplets in the presence of MAG.