Food Gels: Structure and Properties (2nd Edition)
A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 1440
Special Issue Editor
Interests: cellulose; protein; food colloids; emulsions; hydrogel; nanomaterials; interface interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Recently, some food components (polysaccharides and proteins) have been found to have good gelling properties and form viscous dispersions and/or gels when dispersed in water. Generally, these food colloids also exhibit thickening, gelling, emulsifying, and stabilization properties. Gel formation is an interesting phenomenon that involves the association or cross-linking of polymer chains to form a three-dimensional network, which can trap or immobilize the water within it to form a rigid structure that is resistant to flow. For some typical food colloids, they become viscoelastic, exhibiting the characteristics of both a liquid and a solid, whose interactions mainly include physical interaction (e.g., chain entanglements, van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonds, ionic interactions) and/or chemical cross-linking. Notably, the textural and sensory properties of food gels depend on the type of hydrocolloid used, the selection of which is very important to the design of a specific food formulation. The common food colloids used as gelling agents include alginate, pectin, carrageenan, gellan, gelatin, agar, modified starch, methyl cellulose, and hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose, etc. In addition, some thickening-type colloids can induce gel formation, including starch, xanthan, guar gum, locust bean gum, gum tragacanth, and gum Arabic. Some other proteins or polysaccharides can also form gels under specific physical and/or chemical conditions.
This Special Issue focuses on the recent research and advances in food gels, including structure and applications. Additionally, we also welcome contributions regarding the preparation and characterization of food gels extracted from different raw materials.
Dr. Hongjie Dai
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- biopolymer
- gel
- hydrogel
- structure
- emulsion
- food application
- 3D printing
- interaction
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Related Special Issue
- Food Gels: Structure and Properties in Gels (9 articles)
