Water-in-oil oleogel with biphasic stabilization for fabrication of low-fat salad dressing

Salad dressing has become a popular condiment for consumers in many countries, especially for vegetarians. However, the rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity worldwide has been partially attributed to the overconsumption of fats. In this study, we constructed a water-in-oil oleogel with biphasic stabilization for fabrication of low-fat salad dressing. The oleogel was stabilized by adding beeswax to the external oil phase and curdlan to the internal aqueous phase. The oleogel exhibited shear thinning behavior and had a higher storage modulus than the loss modulus, which indicated good elastic behavior. The oleogel displayed high stability as the volume fraction of the internal aqueous phase was increased to 70% because of biphasic stabilization. Beeswax had a positive effect on the structure of the oil phase in the oleogel. When the concentration of beeswax reached 3%, the oleogel exhibited a uniform distribution, a small droplet size, and considerable freeze-thaw stability. In comparison with the oleogel where curdlan alone was used in the internal aqueous phase, the viscoelastic properties and stability could be improved by using a mixture of curdlan and pullulan or curdlan and β-cyclodextrin. Our study provides a green and sustainable method for fabrication of low-fat salad dressing.