Made via sol-gel transition around the encapsulated ingredients, hydrogel is often employed in the formation of shell matrix composed of semipermeable membrane envelope. In the present study, the encapsulation of an oil-soluble food nutrient, curcumin, in hydrogels of natural polymer chitosan was carried out in the absence of any cross-linking agent. A curcumin-loaded oil-in-water emulsion was prepared and incorporated into a polymeric suspension consisting of chitosan and a suitable ratio of κ-carrageenan and carboxymethylcellulose sodium salt (NaCMC). The encapsulation of curcumin in chitosan was achieved by converting the resulting colloidal suspension into hydrogels via cryotropic gel formation. The frozen hydrogel samples were freeze-dried for preservation. The yield of curcumin encapsulation was found to depend on both the cooling rate and the ratio of κ-carrageenan to NaCMC. As the cooling rate increased, the encapsulation yield rose in tandem. Similarly, the release behavior of the encapsulated curcumin in an aqueous phase was shown to depend on the same two factors despite a difference in the oil-phase composition. Two types of release behavior were observed: a burst release and a moderate first-order release rate. In fact, when the ratio of κ-carrageenan to NaCMC was kept constant, the cooling rate was found to determine the type of release. Generally, the higher the number of cross-linkings in the polymer matrix and the stronger the bonding strength, the slower the release rate should become. A more balanced ratio of κ-carrageenan to NaCMC was shown to yield a pseudo-first-order rate release and by implication a stronger microstructure.