Foaming of semi-solid gel – An emerging concept in the food lipid sector

The research on the foaming of semi-solid gel (oleogel) has recently attracted the attention of food scientists owing to its functional characteristics that make it a potential alternative to saturated fat and trans-fat used in food products. The oleofoams are prepared by heating the vegetable oil with an oleogelator followed by cooling to form a semi-solid gel and then incorporating air in the semi-solid gel to form an air-in-oil system having higher stability to deformation. Oleofoams provide new opportunities for the development of novel aerated food products free of saturated and trans fatty acids to meet the growing demand of consumers for healthy foods. The objective of the present review is to understand the development of new research area in food technology thereby focusing on the process of formulation of oleofoams covering the effect of process parameters on the stability of oleofoams, functional characteristics of oleofoam system, food application, and research gap. •Foaming of semi-solid gel results in transforming gel into a foam.•Crystals surrounding the air bubbles provides higher stability to oleofoam.•Functional characteristics of oleofoam depends on the process parameters.•Oleofoams are potential replacements for saturated and trans fats in food.