Thermally reversible acid-induced gelation of low-methoxy pectin

The strength, deformability, and firmness of high acyl (H) and low acyl (L) mixed gellan gels were studied by compression tests. The gels were prepared with total polymer concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5% at H/L weight ratios of 25/75, 50/50, 75/25, and calcium concentrations 2¯80 mM. The mixed gels were much more deformable, with failure normal strains ranging from 0.6 to 1.5, but had similar strength compared to low acyl gellan gels. Both H/L ratio and total polymer concentration affected the textural properties, but H/L ratio was a more important factor. Maximum synergistic interaction was observed at H/L=50/50. The mixed gels exhibited excellent texture properties compared to other common food gels.