Abstract: A plastic oleogel was made from rice oil with sugarcane wax added. The effect of the amount of sugarcane wax added on the hardness, thermodynamic properties, solid fat content (SFC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) profile and microstructure of oleogels was studied. The results showed that when the amount of sugarcane wax added was not lower than 7%, gel-like behavior appeared at 20 ℃. The hardness, SFC, melting enthalpy and crystallization enthalpy of the oleogel increased with the increase in sugarcane wax concentration. The XRD results showed that α-, β- and β’-type crystals were found in the oleogel, with type β being dominant. The amounts of α and β’ crystal type increased with increasing sugarcane wax concentration. The crystals were spherical and evenly distributed. As the concentration of sugarcane wax increased, the number of crystals increased while the size decreased, resulting in increased distribution density. The higher concentration of sugarcane wax resulted in greater hardness, stronger structured vegetable oil-forming ability and better structural stability of the oleogel. These results showed that trans fatty acids (TFAS)-free, natural nutrient-rich oleogels with the advantages of appropriate hardness and good structural stability could be formed by incorporating sugarcane wax into rice oil.

Key words: oleogel; sugarcane wax; rice oil; gel properties; crystal network structure