Canola‐ and Coconut‐Based Oleogels as Functional Alternatives to Commercial Shortenings

Abstract

The replacement of solid fats such as shortening with healthier alternatives remains a major challenge in food formulation. Oleogels have emerged as promising systems capable of structuring liquid oils while maintaining improved nutritional profiles. In this study, oleogels were developed using canola oil, coconut oil, and their blends structured with Myverol monoglycerides. These oils were selected due to their complementary lipid composition: canola oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids that support healthier lipid profiles, whereas coconut oil contains a higher proportion of saturated fatty acids that promote crystal network formation and oxidative stability. Oleogels were prepared at their minimum gelation concentration and characterized through rheological, thermal, oxidative, and color analyses using commercial shortening as reference. All formulations exhibited pseudoplastic behavior, with canola‐rich systems showing higher yield stress and stronger structural networks. Thermal analysis revealed that the 100% canola oleogel displayed the highest crossover temperature (50.76°C), closely approaching that of shortening (48.91°C), along with comparable activation energy values. Creep–recovery tests demonstrated high structural resilience (> 95%) across all oleogels. In contrast, coconut‐rich systems showed lower peroxide values, indicating enhanced oxidative stability. Overall, canola‐rich oleogels exhibited rheological and thermal characteristics most similar to shortening, while coconut oil contributed to oxidative stability and structural modulation. These findings highlight the potential of oil blending strategies to tailor oleogel functionality as alternative lipid structuring systems, although their performance in real food matrices requires further validation.