Rheology and microstructure of myofibrillar protein–olive oil composite gels: effect of different non‐meat protein as emulsifier

Abstract BACKGROUND Heat‐induced composite gels were prepared with 20 g kg −1 (2%) myofibrillar protein (MP) sol and 100 g kg −1 (10%) olive oil pre‐emulsified by MP or non‐meat protein in 0.6 mol L −1 NaCl, at pH 6.2. The effect of different non‐meat protein (soy protein isolate, egg‐white protein isolate and sodium caseinate) pre‐emulsions on the rheological properties and microstructure of MP gel was evaluated. RESULTS Adding emulsion enhanced the gel strength of MP gel except for the soy protein isolate (SPI) as emulsifier group, but all emulsion group markedly improved ( P < 0.05) the water‐holding capacity and the storage modulus ( G ′) of MP gels. SDS‐PAGE show that some non‐meat protein bands partially participated in the formation of MP composite gels with different kinds of emulsion added. Micrographs revealed that these emulsions made the gels become denser and more compact with subtle diverse effects. CONCLUSION Different meat or non‐meat proteins as emulsifier have varied impacts on the rheology and microstructure of MP gels, indicating the potential and feasibility of these non‐meat proteins as emulsifiers to modify the textural properties in comminuted meat products. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry