Effect of monoglycerides and diglycerol‐esters on viscoelasticity of heat‐set whey protein emulsion gels

Summary Effects of small‐molecule surfactants (emulsifiers) on the small‐deformation viscoelastic properties of heat‐set whey protein emulsion gels have been investigated using a controlled stress rheometer. The surfactants used in this investigation were the water‐soluble diglycerol monolaurate (DGML) and diglycerol monooleate (DGMO), and the oil‐soluble glycerol monooleate (GMO). The elastic modulus of the emulsion gel was found to decrease in the presence of a small amount of surfactant, but then to recover at higher surfactant concentrations. The initial reduction in modulus correlates with protein displacement from the oil droplet surface. The recovery of the storage and loss moduli at higher surfactant concentrations of DGML or DGMO may be due to the depletion flocculation of the emulsion prior to heat‐treatment. However, for systems containing high content of GMO in the oil phase, the recovery of the moduli is probably owing mainly to the smaller average particle size. Effects of surface monolayer composition, droplet aggregation and average particle size were discussed. The behaviour obtained here was compared with results for previously investigated whey protein emulsion gel systems containing different emulsifiers.