Eggscellent Emulsification

Smooth and creamy products can derive their texture from eggs. The following information explains how egg products can contribute to a pleasant creamy mouthfeel in all types of applications from dressings and sauces, to custards and puddings, to ice cream and confections.

• An emulsion is a dispersed solution of two immiscible liquid phases. They are immiscible because of their oppositely charged molecular structures that naturally repulse each other. The best example is oil and water.
• The visual appearance of an emulsion depends on the droplet diameter. A fine particle size emulsion has a milky, creamy, somewhat opaque appearance. These particles are undetectable by the human eye and indistinguishable by the human tongue.
• Emulsions do not just happen. They are made and stabilized with assistance from emulsifiers, which are surface-active agents that decrease the interfacial tension that exists between the two oppositely charged molecules. Quality emulsifiers, such as egg yolks, prevent the fine droplets from aggregating and coalescing into a single large droplet.
• Egg yolks are a choice emulsifier for many applications, as egg yolks are a concentrated source of a number of all-natural emulsifying compounds, including phospholipids, lipoproteins and lecithin.
• Besides the all-natural disposition of egg yolks, as compared to synthetic emulsifiers, another benefit to using egg yolks as an emulsifier is their flexibility. An egg yolk-stabilized emulsions can be cold or warm, depending upon the fat or oil. Think mayonnaise, which is sold at ambient temperature and refrigerated after opening, and hollandaise sauce, which is prepared with heat and served warm.

Click to view an educational video detailing the emulsification process.