Emulsifying Properties of Food Matrices: From Emulsion Preparation to Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Emulsions are an essential structural base in modern food systems, ranging from dairy and dressings to plant-based alternatives, bioactive delivery vehicles, and solid fat substitutes. The emulsifying properties of food matrices (proteins, polysaccharides, phospholipids, and their complexes) play a critical role in dictating droplet size distribution, interfacial rheology, physical stability, and ultimately, sensory and functional performance. Despite significant progress, key challenges remain: understanding matrix-dependent emulsification mechanisms, replacing synthetic surfactants with clean-label natural emulsifiers, scaling up stable emulsion-based production, and further developing emulsion-based structured systems (e.g., emulsion-based oleogels) for texture remodeling, fat replacement, and active delivery.

This Special Issue invites high-quality original research, reviews, and short communications that address recent innovations in the preparation, characterization, and application of food-grade emulsions. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Advanced emulsion preparation techniques (e.g., microfluidization, membrane emulsification, ultrasound-assisted and high-pressure homogenization); 
• Novel natural emulsifiers derived from underutilized plant, animal, or fermentation sources;
• Cutting-edge analytical approaches for probing interfacial behavior (e.g., dissipative quartz crystal microbalance, atomic force microscopy, and microfluidic rheometry); 
• Strategies to improve emulsion stability against coalescence, flocculation, Ostwald ripening, and oxidation;
• Applications in controlled release, texture modulation, fat reduction, encapsulation of labile bioactives, and design of emulsion-based oleogels for oil structuring; 
• The impact of food matrix complexity (e.g., pH, ionic strength, coexisting components) on emulsifying functionality.

We particularly encourage submissions that combine mechanistic insights with practical solutions, supporting the development of stable, label-friendly, and functional emulsion-based products for tomorrow’s food industry.

Prof. Dr. Guowen Zhang
Prof. Dr. Xingfeng Xu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.