Structure and dynamics of fibrous calcium caseinate gels studied by neutron scattering

In the past decades, neutron scattering techniques have been applied to many soft matter systems and have yielded fruitful results that contribute to a better understanding of their properties. Yet, the techniques were rarely used for studying food materials, probably because they are less well known and less accessible to food scientists. This work fills a small part of the research gap by applying several neutron scattering techniques to the characterisation of a food-relevant protein sample: calcium caseinate. Calcium caseinate can be transformed into pronounced fibres to form the basis for a next generation meat analogue. Given the prospect of the material, the emphasis in this work is on quantifying the size, structure and dynamics of the air bubbles and fibres present in calcium caseinate gels. The main findings are summarised into four chapters.