Pre-emulsion constructed with modified rice bran fiber and its application in low-fat chicken meatballs

As a natural emulsifier, rice bran dietary fiber (RF) had promising prospects in stabilizing O/W emulsion, which could be considered as an effective fat substitute. However, the emulsifying of natural RF needs to be further enhanced. In this study, the modified rice bran dietary fiber (MRF) was prepared by alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP) under different H2O2 (0.5%, 1%, 2%) and heating time (6 h, 12 h). Then the most stable MRF emulsion prepared by pre-emulsifying the MRF made under the best modification conditions with soybean oil was screened for replacing porcine backfat of chicken meatballs. After modifying, the D4,3 of MRF pre-emulsions decreased by at least 42.00%. Specially, C-MRF (heated for 6 h with 2% H2O2) pre-emulsion exhibited the best stability. The fat content of chicken meatballs was decreased by more than 18.61% after replacing by C-MRF emulsion. The decrease of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) (from 39.42% to 20.85%) and the rise of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) suggested that the C-MRF emulsion improved the lipid profile of meatballs. Additionally, incorporation of 50% C-MRF pre-emulsion maintained similar micromorphology, texture properties, and better taste and acceptability with the control. Overall, this work confirms the feasibility of MRF emulsions acting as fat substitute.