In addition to the films, 3D gelled puck structures were produced in
order to test a larger volume of material to explore possible structural
relationships between alginate and the various proteins. The results of
the two-cycle 45% compression texture profile analysis (TPA) test and
70% fracture to failure test are reported in Table 2. Overall, fewer differences
between treatments were seen with the TPA results compared to
the puncture and tensile results. In all cases the 0.8% gelatin gels had
significantly (Pb0.05) higher hardness, gumminess and chewiness
values than the 0.8% soy protein gels. The 0.8% gelatin gels also had
higher gumminess and chewiness values than the 0.4% soy protein
gels. Springiness values have not been reported as therewere no significant
(Pb0.05) differences found between any of the treatments. The
cohesiveness values were also similar to each other (approximately
0.60–0.62) and therefore have not been presented in Table 2. The
fracture to failure results demonstrate that there were no significant
(Pb0.05) differences in the fracture force or distance between any of
the treatments. Again the 0.8% gelatin gels had the highest numerical
value for both the fracture force and distance, with values of 104.2±
8.4 N and 5.8±0.2 mm respectively. Aside from measuring different
parameters, the TPA and fracture to failure tests measured a larger
volume of gel thatwas gelled over a longer period of time (24 h in a dialysis
tube vs. 1 min in a calcium bath) than the puncture and tensile
tests.We know that the possible slower gelation of the material in the
dialysis tubes might have affected the gels formed however it provided
a nice platform to compare the composition of the different gels on the
same playing field. Additionally the concentration of the hydrocolloids
in the gels was less than the concentration of hydrocolloids in the
films. This could explain why fewer differences were seen between
treatments with the TPA and fracture to failure tests.