Transforming roasted sesame oil into oil-impregnated powder: Avant-garde plating technique in molecular cooking - Mechanisms, physicochemical properties, and quantitative release of odorant-active compounds

Plating, which involves converting liquid oils into oil-impregnated powders, is one of the techniques employed in molecular cooking. This study examined the oil holding capacity and mechanisms, physicochemical properties, and quantitative release of key odorant compounds of plated roasted sesame oil-impregnated powders. The plated oil powders were prepared with nutty-flavored roasted sesame oil and two commercial plating agents; Pine Flow (PF) and N-Zorbit 2144 (NZ). PF and NZ had distinctly different morphologies and physical properties. PF had a higher porosity, intrusion volume, and oil holding capacity than NZ. The oil holding capacities of NZ and PF were 1.35 and 3.44 g/g (oil to plating agent), respectively. The FT-IR data indicated that hydrogen bond, hydrophobic interaction, and van der Waals effect were responsible for the loading the oil onto the plating agents. The plated oil powders were efficient carriers for key odorants, releasing a high portion of volatiles up to 84% after adding water (simulated saliva). This study is the first to report on the physicochemical properties, oil-holding mechanisms, and quantitative information on the aroma release of plated oil powders as a flavored-oil carrier, which could be useful in molecular cooking and the food industry.