The Effect of High-Speed Homogenization on the Formation and Properties of Avocado Oil Oleogels Compared to Conventional Methods

Vegetable oil–based oleogels have emerged as promising alternatives to conventional solid fats because they structure liquid oils without generating trans fatty acids. This study compared avocado oil–beeswax oleogels prepared by High-Speed Homogenization (HSH, 10,000 rpm) and conventional low-shear mixing (500 rpm) under identical thermal conditions (70°C for 5 min). Oleogels were formulated with 1, 2, 6, and 10% beeswax. At 2% beeswax, HSH reduced gelation time from 19 to 15 min and increased oil binding capacity (OBC) from 84.51 to 98.03%, while at 10% beeswax gelation time decreased from 10 to 7 min and both methods achieved OBC values of 99.8–100%. Microscopy at 10% beeswax showed that HSH produced a finer crystal network, reducing mean crystal size from 6.47 to 5.53 µm, D50 from 5.329 to 3.872 µm, and D90 from 11.239 to 6.108 µm. These changes were associated with higher hardness (171.5 vs 143.3 g) and springiness (21.1 vs 19.2 mm). DSC analysis showed that HSH increased the melting onset temperature from 36.38 to 41.29°C, whereas solid fat content at 30°C differed only slightly (6.31 vs 6.24%). FTIR, GC-FID, and XRD confirmed that oleogelation did not significantly alter molecular structure, fatty acid profile, or crystal packing. Overall, HSH improved crystal network uniformity and functional performance, highlighting its potential for producing low-solid structured oils for food applications.