Emulsion gel-based 3D printable fat analogue prepared with pea protein isolate

This study explores the development of fat analogues using emulsion gels prepared with pea protein isolate. The increase in MCT oil content from 10% to 80% resulted in an escalation of droplet size and PDI within emulsions, spanning from 330.2 to 14666.67 nm and from 0.22 to 0.80, respectively. Emulsions with 30–50% oil content demonstrated the formation of a uniform emulsion gel. Furthermore, both viscosity at 0.1 s⁻¹ and storage modulus (G′) at 10 rad/s for emulsion gels increased from 230.57 kPa s to 2513.2 kPa s and from 3405.1 Pa to 9652.3 Pa, respectively, with increasing oil content (30–50%). The emulsion gel with a 50% oil content exhibited superior structural stability, shape retention, and load-bearing capacity during printability assessments. Additionally, the melting behavior of emulsion gels gradually diminished as oil content increased. This study underscores the promising applications of emulsion gels as fat analogues in the food industry.