Storage Stability of Conventional and High Internal Phase Emulsions Stabilized Solely by Chickpea Aquafaba

Abstract

Aquafaba is a liquid residue of cooked pulses, which is generally discarded as waste. However, it is rich in proteins and, thus, can be used as a plant-based emulsifier to structure vegetable oil. This study investigates chickpea aquafaba (CA) as an agent to structure different oil phase volumes (Φ) of canola oil (CO). CO was structured in the form of conventional emulsions (EΦ65% and EΦ70%) and high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) (EΦ75%) by the one-pot homogenization method. Emulsions were evaluated for a period of 60 days at 25 °C in terms of average droplet size (11.0–15.9 µm), microscopy, rheological properties, and oil loss (<1.5%). All systems presented predominantly elastic behavior and high resistance to coalescence. EΦ75% was the most stable system throughout the 60 days of storage. This study developed an inexpensive and easy to prepare potential substitute for saturated and trans-fat in food products. Moreover, it showed a valuable utilization of an often-wasted by-product and its conversion into a food ingredient.