title: Food gels: gelling process and new applications.
abstract: Food gels are viscoelastic substances and several gelled products are manufactured throughout the world. The gelling agents in foods are usually polysaccharides and proteins. In food gels, the polymer molecules are not cross-linked by covalent bonds with the exception of disulphide bonds in some protein gels. Instead, the molecules are held together by a combination of weak inter-molecular forces like hydrogen bonds, electrostatic forces, Van der Waals forces, and hydrophobic interactions. Polysaccharides including hydrocolloids are strongly hydrated in aqueous medium but they tend to have less ordered structures. The mechanism of gelation depends on the nature of the gelling agent(s) and on the conditions of gel formation like the temperature, the presence of ions, the pH, and the concentration of gelling agents, etc. Characterization of gels can be performed in several ways of which rheological measurements are frequently practiced. Multi-component or mixed gel system is an important area of interest in which two or more gelling components are simultaneously used to achieve certain specific structural and functional characteristics. We here discuss about the different gels and gelling agents, the characterization of gels, and the mechanism of gelation with an emphasis on mixed or multi-component gels that would have significant commercial applications.
authors.affiliation: Food Engineering Department, Central Food Technological Research Institute, (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), Mysore 570020, India.
authors.forename: Soumya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Banerjee
authors.forename: Suvendu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
mesh_terms: D000362:Agar / Q000737:chemistry; D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry; D002351:Carrageenan / Q000737:chemistry; D004527:Egg Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D005503:Food Additives / Q000737:chemistry*; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005685:Galactans / Q000737:chemistry; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry; D005782:Gels / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008351:Mannans / Q000737:chemistry; D008894:Milk Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D010368:Pectins / Q000737:chemistry; D053149:Plant Gums / Q000737:chemistry; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry; D011312:Pressure; D012212:Rheology; D030262:Soybean Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D013213:Starch / Q000737:chemistry; D055672:Static Electricity; D013696:Temperature; D000067816:Whey Proteins
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D004527:Egg Proteins; D005503:Food Additives; D005685:Galactans; D005782:Gels; D008351:Mannans; D008894:Milk Proteins; D053149:Plant Gums; D011134:Polysaccharides; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D030262:Soybean Proteins; D000067816:Whey Proteins; C048288:gellan gum; D010368:Pectins; D002351:Carrageenan; D005780:Gelatin; D000362:Agar; D013213:Starch; C007894:guar gum; C002563:xanthan gum; C017471:locust bean gum