Investigation of the effect of hydrocarbons and monoesters in the gelators' composition on the properties of edible oleogel

Natural wax gelators have different compositions of compounds (hydrocarbons, wax esters, free fatty alcohols, and free fatty acids), which results in oleogels with varying properties. To maintain a consistent composition, the individual components can be added to the original wax gelator. The content of hydrocarbons and wax esters greatly affects the structuring process of liquid edible oils with waxes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of modifying the properties of beeswax as a gelling agent by adding hydrocarbons or monoesters to obtain oleogels with specific properties. Various tests were conducted to assess the changes in the oleogel properties, such as color, microstructure, oil-binding capacity, thermal and textural properties. The research results have shown that the addition of the studied fractions has led to a significant change in all properties of oleogels. The initial size of oleogel crystals (7.29 ± 1.80 μm) changed after adding fractions, varying from 5.28 μm to 12.58 μm with hydrocarbons and from 9.95 μm to 30.41 μm with wax esters. The addition of 30%–50% hydrocarbons decreased the ability of the oleogels to bind oil and made them less firm compared to samples with 10%–20% hydrocarbons. Adding 10%–20% monoesters increased the firmness of the oleogels, but this indicator decreased when their content was increased to 50%. The obtained data indicate that hydrocarbons and wax esters can be used for targeted correction of the gelling properties of beeswax.