Abstract:Bigels are novel complex biphasic systems composed by two different semi-solid networks (hydrogel and oleogel), but the researches in food area were considerably limited. In this study, bigel based on glycerol monostearate oleogel and alginate hydrogels were studied to explore the effect of different parameters (oleogel ∶ hydrogel ratio, emulsifier content and CaCO3 content) on mechanical properties, freeze-thaw stability and rheological properties of bigel, which was intended to interpret the key factors exerting the most significant influence on bigels. The results show: the increase of CaCO3 content results in higher hardness and lower water holding capacity. It was observed that the emulsifier content has a complex effect on the properties of bigels. A monotonously increasing trend of the freeze-thaw stability were observed for bigel samples (20% and 30% oleogel content) with increasing TW-20 content. It is worth noting that the oleogel ∶ hydrogel ratio has a great effect on the bigel system. With the increase of the oleogel content, the hardness of the system decreased while the viscosity followed an opposite trend. The existence of hydrogel in system (10% oleogel) contributes to recover to the original structure after heating and cooling. With the increase of the oleogel content (30% and 50%), the recovery and the thermal stability of bigels decreased. The acquisition of these information will help expand the application of bigels in food systems.