Preparation and characterization of oleogels with tallow and partially hydrolyzed tallow as organogelators

The aim of this study was to evaluate the organogelation potential of tallow fat (TF) and partially hydrolyzed tallow fat (HTF) against saturated monoglyceride (MG) and a saturated monoglyceride + diglyceride mixture (MDG) as the organogelators. TF itself created oleogel at a 30% addition level, while HTF, MG and MDG oleogels were prepared at 10% addition levels. Fatty acid composition data showed that the oleogel of HTF (HTFO) was quite similar to those of MG and MDG oleogels. Solid fat content, free fatty acidity and peroxide values were found to be in acceptable ranges for HTFO. Thermal properties, crystal morphology and X-ray diffraction patterns were also evaluated. Rheological analyses indicated that all oleogels had higher storage modulus (G') than loss modulus (G''). The time-sweep test showed that after applying higher shear rates, the gels re-formed at rest. Further, all oleogels maintained their gelled consistency until around 54 °C. The results suggest that HTF could be a cheap, efficient, fast melting, safe and readily available organogelator.