| 摘要 |
An aspect of the present invention is a liquid based composition comprising at least one gelling polysaccharide capable of forming a reversible gel wherein the composition, at a temperature T, is fluid and substantially less rigid than the gel formed after heating said composition to above transition temperature and subsequent cooling under quiescent conditions to the same temperature T, the gelling polysaccharide(s) predominantly being present in the composition as microgels having a mean equivalent diameter of less than 100 microns, more preferably less than 50 microns. The present invention offers the advantage that it is easily transportable and moreover can be converted to a rigid gel by heating to above transition temperature and subsequent cooling under quiescent conditions. Another aspect of the present invention is a method of preparing a fluid composition containing a sufficient amount of at least one gelling polysaccharide to form a reversible gel on quiescent cooling wherein a liquid containing the gelling polysaccharide(s) is subjected to sufficient shear while cooling the liquid through its gel setting temperature to obtain a substantially less rigid composition than would be obtained by quiescent cooling. |
