Characterization of Hazelnut Oil Oleogels Prepared with Sunflower and Carnauba Waxes

In this study, hazelnut oil oleogels prepared with sunflower wax and carnauba wax were analyzed and compared with a commercial shortening. Oil binding capacities of sunflower wax oleogels were higher than 99%, while carnauba wax had a maximum value of 97.6% for 10% addition level. At 3% addition level of carnauba wax, no gel developed. The crystal formation time of sunflower wax was shorter. Although the highest (8.5%) solid fat content was observed in the 10% carnauba wax containing oleogel (HC10) sample, it was 30.4% in the commercial shortening sample at 20°C. The peak melting temperature of commercial shortening was 52.3°C, and among all organogels, sunflower wax oleogel at 3% addition level had the closest value (58.4°C). The melting enthalpies of the oleogels ranged from 4.3 to 20.3 J/g, while it was 10.9 J/g for the commercial shortening sample. The firmness and stickiness values in the oleogel samples were lower than that of commercial shortening sample. On the other hand, there was no significant change of firmness and stickiness during storage, indicating good stability (p ≤ 0.001). Especially the sunflower wax oleogels were very homogenous and smooth in structure. The polarized light microscopy pictures revealed needle-like crystals for sunflower wax and aggregate-like crystals for carnauba wax oleogels. The x-ray diffraction measurements of the crystals showed the β´ types of the polymorphic structures. Furthermore, the oleogels were very stable against oxidation during the storage period. Hazelnut oil organogels prepared with sunflower wax can be good source material for shortening or margarine-like products.