Comparative Study on the Freeze–Thaw Stability of Sodium Caseinate Emulsion-Filled Konjac Glucomannan/κ-Carrageenan Composite Gels

The paper explored the impact of sodium caseinate (CAS) emulsion on the freeze-thaw stability of konjac glucomannan (KGM)/κ-carrageenan (KC) composite gels. It found that the emulsion and KGM both increased the viscoelasticity of the composite gel, giving it a greater elastic stress. Emulsion addition enhanced the water-holding capacity (WHC) of the KC gel from 72.36% to 89.34%. KGM addition further improved WHC to 97.54%. The hardness of the emulsion KGM/KC gel reached 9.35 N, while the values were essentially not affected by freeze-thaw. This study shows that CAS emulsion, especially under the regulation of KGM and KC, can improve the freeze-thaw stability of the gel system. The results show that emulsion has great potential in regulating the physical and textural properties of multiphase gels. The emulsion coupling method could effectively enhance the freeze-thaw stability of gels, which may provide a new strategy for the development of frozen multiphase gel foods.