The physical quality characteristics of natural peanut butter stabilized with ethyl cellulose and dietary sugarcane fiber

As part of ongoing efforts to find healthier alternatives to conventional peanut butter stabilizers, this study investigated the use of dietary sugarcane fiber (SCF) and ethyl cellulose (EC) as potential replacements for hydrogenated oil-based stabilizers. Natural peanut butter was combined with dietary SCF and food-grade EC at 0.5%, 1.5%, 2.5%, and 3.5% by weight. To facilitate in situ organogelation, the EC samples were homogenized for 8 min at 130 °C. The addition of EC and SCF decreased oil leakage and improved the rheological and textural characteristics of peanut butter. The percentage of oil leakage for EC- and SCF-stabilized peanut butter decreased from 12% to 3.9% and 12% to 8.1%, respectively, as the EC and SCF levels increased from 0% to 3.5%. At the 3.5% level, EC-stabilized peanut butter was comparable to standard hydrogenated oil-stabilized peanut butter. At 2.5% EC, the peanut butter had adhesiveness and hardness comparable to peanut butter stabilized with hydrogenated oils. Laser confocal micrographs revealed that SCF did not yield any appreciable changes in the structure of the stabilized peanut butter. In contrast, increasing amounts of EC resulted in progressive organogelation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that EC was associated with a highly porous structure in comparison with SCF. Gelation significantly increased the porosity and pore diameter of EC, creating a sponge-like structure with enhanced oil absorption and a higher oil-stabilizing effect. This study presents novel EC organogel-based and SCF-based peanut butter stabilizers as healthier alternatives to hydrogenated oil for food stabilization.