Modulation of soy protein isolate gel properties by a novel “two-step” gelation process: Effects of pre-aggregation with different divalent sulfates

A novel pre-aggregation process prior to gelation was applied to modulate the aggregation and gelation pathway of soy protein isolate (SPI). SPI dispersions were pre-aggregated with CaSO4, MgSO4 or ZnSO4 at 0–15 mM and then gelled by adding CaSO4 up to a final salt concentration of 35 mM. Compared with the sample without pre-aggregation, the storage modulus of SPI gels pre-aggregated with 10 mM CaSO4, 10 mM MgSO4, and 2.5 mM ZnSO4 were increased by 50.5%, 35.7%, and 63.6%, respectively. The fracture stress, texture profile analysis parameters, and water holding capacity were markedly improved by an appropriate level of pre-aggregation. To a certain extent, pre-aggregation could promote the formation of uniform structure with thicker strands, whereas over-aggregation resulted in a coarser network, which was correlated with the volume-mean diameter (D4,3) of pre-aggregated SPI particles. The results are of great value for further understanding of gelation mechanism of proteins.