Nanostructuring triacylglycerol crystalline networks under external shear fields: a review

•Fat crystalline network characteristics under thermo-mechanical regimes.•Innovative techniques to quantify the networks’ characteristics under external fields.•Relationship between the dynamics of fat system formation and its physical properties.•Improving desirable functionality of food by controlling edible oils crystallization.

Years of study on fats and oils showed that the quality of fat-containing foods is influenced by both the chemical composition of the triacylglycerol's molecules as well as the physical properties of the underlying fat crystal network. The structure of the solid crystalline network at different length scale (macro/micro/nano) is mainly optimized during the processing conditions. A number of research works studied the kinetics of fat structure formation under different thermo-mechanical regimes and introduced the physico-chemical aspects involved in lipids crystallization. Some of the more recent and important advances in improving the fat network characteristics under external fields, such as shear flow rate, are discussed in this review.