Oil droplet release from emulsion-filled gels in relation to sensory perception

Oil droplet release upon shearing was studied in emulsion-filled gels containing oil droplets either bound or unbound to the gel matrix. At 20 °C no release was observed for gels containing droplets bound to the matrix, whereas the release measured for gels with unbound droplets related to the fat content and the size of the gel particles obtained after shearing. For gels with bound droplets and melting at the oral processing temperature, increasing the temperature of the determination to 37 °C resulted in an almost complete release of the oil droplets. An increase of the oil content induced an increase of the creaminess scores for all gels. These scores were somewhat higher for gels containing unbound droplets and gels melting at oral processing temperature. For these gels, the oil droplet release appears to correlate with creaminess. However, because a similar increase in creaminess at increasing oil concentration was also found for gels with oil droplets bound to the matrix, it is concluded that the release of oil droplets during oral processing is not the main mechanism causing creaminess perception in emulsion-filled gels.