Enhancement on the mechanical properties of hydrogels leads to a wider range of their applications in various fields. Therefore, there has been a great interest recently for developing new strategies to reinforce hydrogels. Moreover, food gels must be edible in terms of both raw materials and production. This paper reviews innovative techniques such as particle/fiber-reinforced hydrogel, double network, dual crosslinking, freeze-thaw cycles, physical conditioning and soaking methods to improve the mechanical properties of hydrogels. Additionally, their fundamental mechanisms, advantages and disadvantages have been discussed. Important biopolymers that have been employed for these strategies and also their potentials in food applications have been summarized. The general mechanism of these strategies is based on increasing the degree of crosslinking between interacting polymers in hydrogels. These links can be formed by adding fillers (oil droplets or fibers in filled gels) or cross-linkers (regarding double network and soaking method) and also by condensation or alignment of the biopolymers (freeze-thaw cycle and physical conditioning) in the gel network. The properties of particle/fiber-reinforced hydrogels extremely depend on the filler, gel matrix and the interaction between them. In freeze-thaw cycles and physical conditioning methods, it is possible to form new links in the gel network without adding any cross-linkers or fillers. It is expected that the utilization of gels will get broader and more varied in food industries by using these strategies.

水凝胶力学性能的增强使其在各个领域的应用范围更广。因此，最近人们对开发增强水凝胶的新策略产生了极大的兴趣。此外，食品凝胶在原料和生产方面都必须是可食用的。本文综述了颗粒/纤维增强水凝胶、双网络、双交联、冻融循环、物理调节和浸泡方法等创新技术，以提高水凝胶的机械性能。此外，还讨论了它们的基本机制、优点和缺点。已用于这些策略的重要生物聚合物及其在食品应用中的潜力已被总结。这些策略的一般机制是基于增加水凝胶中相互作用聚合物之间的交联度。这些连接可以通过添加填料（填充凝胶中的油滴或纤维）或交联剂（关于双网络和浸泡方法）以及凝胶中生物聚合物的缩合或排列（冻融循环和物理调节）形成网络。颗粒/纤维增强水凝胶的性能极大地取决于填料、凝胶基质和它们之间的相互作用。在冻融循环和物理调节方法中，可以在凝胶网络中形成新的链接，而无需添加任何交联剂或填料。预计通过使用这些策略，凝胶在食品工业中的应用将变得更广泛、更多样化。这些连接可以通过添加填料（填充凝胶中的油滴或纤维）或交联剂（关于双网络和浸泡方法）以及凝胶中生物聚合物的缩合或排列（冻融循环和物理调节）形成网络。颗粒/纤维增强水凝胶的性能极大地取决于填料、凝胶基质和它们之间的相互作用。在冻融循环和物理调节方法中，可以在凝胶网络中形成新的链接，而无需添加任何交联剂或填料。预计通过使用这些策略，凝胶在食品工业中的应用将变得更广泛、更多样化。这些连接可以通过添加填料（填充凝胶中的油滴或纤维）或交联剂（关于双网络和浸泡方法）以及凝胶中生物聚合物的缩合或排列（冻融循环和物理调节）形成网络。颗粒/纤维增强水凝胶的性能极大地取决于填料、凝胶基质和它们之间的相互作用。在冻融循环和物理调节方法中，可以在凝胶网络中形成新的链接，而无需添加任何交联剂或填料。预计通过使用这些策略，凝胶在食品工业中的应用将变得更广泛、更多样化。