In this research, food-grade oleogels (differing in concentration of bees wax in rice bran oil) were combined with palm oil at three replacement levels (17, 33, and 50%wt) to form a continuous fat phase reduced in saturated fatty acids. We explored the crystallization and gelling behavior of the wax-based palm-blend mixtures, and those of the fillings containing sugar and hazelnut particles dispersed in these wax-based palm-blend fat phases. The wax-based palm-blends were different in chemical nature (unique triacyglycerols in hazelnut oil, rice bran oil, and palm oil; fatty esters, n-alkanes, free fatty acids, and free fatty alcohols in bees wax), resulting in the formation of different crystalline morphologies when oleogels and palm oil were crystallized together. The crystallization of BW-oleogel has proven its contribution to the gelation of the hybrid mixtures during the instant cooling step. The maximum amount of palm oil being replaced by wax-based oleogels was 17%, resulting in a system having similar gel strength with the reference (100% of palm oil). The gel strength obtained from rheological measurements was explained based on the information obtained from oil binding capacity, microstructure (polarized light microscopy), and thermal studies. The dilution effect was observed and the melting enthalpy decreased with the increasing oleogel fraction. The solid fat content of the final filling products at body temperature was lower than 2.0%wt, suggesting a non-waxy mouthfeel. This research provides imperative information involved in the use of oleogels for the engineering of low saturated-fat confectionery products. Practical applications: Food grade beeswax-oleogel was used in search of a novel alternative for palm oil to limit the consumption of saturated fat content in confectionery products, especially hazelnut filling. A fundamental understanding in the rheological behavior and thermal properties of wax-based palm-blend mixtures, and of the wax-based fillings is very important to evaluate the influence of BW-oleogel on the crystallization of the continuous fat phase. The obtained data are imperative for the achievement of low-saturated fat products with a well-defined structure. These findings will be interest to the readers who are working in the area of food lipid science and technology, especially the use of food-grade fat-based alternatives in chocolate and confectionary industry. In this research, food-grade oleogels (differing in concentration of bees wax in rice bran oil) were combined with palm oil at three replacement levels (17, 33, and 50%wt) to form a continuous fat phase reduced in saturated fatty acids. We explored the crystallization and gelling behavior of the wax-based palm-blend mixtures, and those of the fillings containing sugar and hazelnut particles dispersed in these wax-based palm-blend fat phases. This research provides imperative information involved in the use of oleogels for the engineering of low saturated-fat confectionery products.
