The effects of sodium alginate and calcium levels on pea proteins cold-set gelation

Abstract A multi-scale investigation of pea proteins – alginate cold-set gels was proposed in this study. The gel preparation followed a two-steps procedure. Globular pea proteins were first denatured and aggregated by a pre-heating step. Sodium alginate was then added at different concentrations. Thereafter the in situ gelation process was induced at 20 °C using glucono-δ-lactone (GDL) and two calcium carbonate (CC) levels; calcium cations were released as the pH decreased. Small-amplitude rheology measurements (storage modulus G′) showed that stronger mixed gels were obtained than single-biopolymer solutions. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) revealed phase-separating microstructu…