Protein aggregation in the presence of cellulose

There is an on-going interest in the development of new functional food ingredients that can be used to modify the textural properties of food products. Foods are complex systems that are typically structured on a mesoscopic length scale. These structures eventually determine i.e. the stability, texture, appearance, flavour release and bio-availability of the different components. By their capacity to form different structures, proteins play an important role in texturing food products. The formed structures vary from random to linear aggregates, depending on the conditions used. These protein aggregates by themselves or in combination with polysaccharides are used in many food products. However, the formation of protein aggregates and the physical properties of the final product, can be influenced by the presence of polysaccharides. Here we study the influence of cellulose fibrils on the formation of protein aggregates and on the physical properties of the mixture at different conditions.The rheological properties and microstructure of mixed systems, containing both protein aggregates and cellulose fibrils, are characterized