Rheological and Textural Properties of Plant‐Based Gel Derived From Pulsed Electric Field‐Treated Oat Flour and Pea Protein

ABSTRACT Composite gels produced from plant‐based ingredients, especially when their textural attributes are engineered through the application of emerging technology, show promise for new food product development. However, there is limited data on the gelation mechanism and the contribution of individual ingredients in these composite gels. This research investigated the effect of varying starch and protein concentrations on the rheological and textural properties of a plant‐based gel formulated from oat flour (5%–15% w/w) and pea protein (5%–10% w/w) under the influence of pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment applied at varying electric field strengths (2–4 kV/cm) and specific energies (300–445 kJ/kg). The application of higher specific energy levels increased the textural (firmness, cohesiveness, consistency, and index viscosity) and rheological (, , crossover moduli, A′, A″, B′, B″, viscosity and shear stress) parameters of the oat‐pea composite gels. The starch component of the oat flour had a greater contribution to the gel strength, suggesting that the gel formation mechanism was attributed to starch gelatinization due to Joule heating. In contrast, electric field strength had only a minor contribution to the gel strength. Gels made from oat flour mixed with pea protein fit within levels 2–5 of the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) classification. This study demonstrated that PEF treatment can be a rapid method for producing plant‐based gels from oat flour mixed with pea protein, yielding varying textural profiles and rheological properties.