Food Emulsions and Foams Flashcards
- Ex. Frozen desserts, margarine, milk, butter
- either w/o or o/w
- need to be stable through adding emulsifiers/stabilizing agents
Food emulsions
- beaten egg white
- contain gas (air or CO2) dispersed into liquid
Food Foams
Definition of emulsion
- colloidal system containing droplets of one liquid dispersed in another
- two liquids are immiscible
- dispersed phase = droplets
- continuous phase = the other liquid
- must contain an emulsifier
- similar to colloidal dispersons/sols, except dispersed phase is liquid
Function of emulsifier
coats the emulsion droplets and prevents them from coalescing or combining with each other
- A system in which particles of the colloidal size of any nature (solid, liquid, gas) are dispersed in a continuous phase of a different composition/state
- molecules are often too big to form true solutions
- particle size range of 1-100nm
- ex. cellulose, cooked starch, pectic substances, gums, some food proteins
Colloidal Dispersion
- A colloid that pours
- a two-phase system with a solid dispersed phase in a liquid continuous phase
sol
- a two-phase system containing an elastic solid with a liquid dispersed phase in a solid continuous phase
gel
- a substance that enables two normally immiscible liquids to be mixed together without separating on standing
emulsifier
Classifications of emulsifiers
- cationic
- anionic
- non-ionic
Two liquid/gas droplets merge/merging to form one larger droplet
coalescence
O/W Emulsion Definition
- more common
- continuous phase = water
- Ex. salad dressings, mayonnaise, cake batter, frozen desserts
W/O Emulsion Definition
- continuous phase: oil
- Ex. butter, margarine, some icings
How does surface tension work?
- Surface: net downward pull on molecule toward bulk of the liquid
- Center: molecule has forces acting on it from all directions —-> net force = 0
- water molecules have strong attractive forces among them: hard to penetrate, large force needed to pull apart molecules and expand the surface
- the force required to increase the surface area of a liquid or to spread it over a surface
- work required to increase a surface area divided by that area
- when a gas (air) surrounds the liquid surface
surface tension
- when a surface is between two liquids
- ex. water and oil
interfacial tension
The higher the tensions the ___________ it is to mix two phases together
harder
- reduce the attractive forces between liquid molecules to reduce the surface or interfacial tension
- Active at the surface of the liquid rather than the bulk of it
- molecules are amphiphilic
Surface-Active Molecules / Surfactants
Structure of Surfactants
- Hydrophilic charged/polar end: attached to water and has no affinity for oil
- Hydrophobic apolar end: favorable for oil, no affinity for water
- Overall amphiphilic
Method of action of surface-active molecules
- molecule ADSORBS at the surface
- molecule REDUCES the attractive forces of the water molecules for THEMSELVES
- makes it easier to EXPAND/spread the surface
Definition of adsorb
to bind to a surface
Non-Food Surfactants
- Detergents
- Water flows over surface, forming thin sheet
- Water DOESN’T gather in droplets
- Not used as food ingredients
Food Surfactants
- Proteins
- Lipids
- Some spices
Characteristics of proteins used as food surfactants
depends on AA composition: whether they are hydrophilic or hydrophobic
Lipids as food surfactants
- Ex. lecithin
- polar head and apolar tail
Spices as food surfactants
- dry mustard
- dry paprika
- molecules that are EITHER hydrophilic or hydrophobic
- molecules remain in the bulk of the liquid
- sugars: hydrophilic
- salt: dissociate into ions, hydrophilic
- DO NOT DECREASE INTERFACIAL TENSION
- increase interfacial tension, depending on ability to bind water molecules —-> increase molecular attraction
Non-Surface-Active Molecules
Formation of emulsion
- when oil, water, and emulsifier are mixed together
1. break up oil or water phase into small droplets that remain dispersed throughout the other liquid ***NEEDS ENERGY VIA MIXER OR HOMOGENIZER
2. emulsifier is absorbed at the surface of droplets, decreasing the interfacial tension and allowing the formation of more and smaller droplets
3. liquid with the higher interfacial tension will tend to form droplets, other liquid will flow around the droplets to form the continuous
Types of emulsifiers used in O/W Emulsions
- emulsifiers that are more easily dispersed in water
- these tend to reduce the interfacial tension of the water more than that of oil
Types of emulsifiers used in W/O Emulsions
- emulsifiers that disperse more readily in oil phase
Principles of formation of a stable O/W Emulsion
- disperse emulsifier in aqueous phase
- oil is added, and interfacial tension of each liquid is reduced by the emulsifier
- beating and homogenization break the oil phase into droplets surrounded by water
- small droplets are formed, protected by an interfacial layer of emulsifier
- interfacial area of the oil becomes very large, aqueous phase spreads to surround each oil droplet
Functions of emulsifier
- reduce interfacial tension
- formation of a stable film that protects the emulsion droplets and prevents separation of the emulsion
Three fates of droplets after collision in an emulsion:
- film stretches/breaks, droplets coalesce into a larger droplet
- the emulsifier layers surrounding the droplets interact and an aggregate is formed
- the droplets move apart again
an unstable system with a greater concentration of a material in solution than would exist at equilibrium
supersaturation
dissolution of small crystals or sol particles and the redeposition of the dissolved species on the surfaces of larger crystals or sol particles
Ostwald ripening