Recent Research on Food Emulsions: Preparation, Characterization and Application

Dear Colleagues,

Many food products are emulsions of two immiscible liquid phases (usually oil and water), with one phase dispersed as droplets in the other phase, e.g., oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions (e.g., milk, salad dressing, and mayonnaise) and water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions (e.g., butter and margarine). Emulsions are generally thermodynamically unstable due to the high surface energy of the interface, with an instability phenomenon, thus appearing, with prolonged storage time, such as coalescence, flocculation, and Ostwald ripening and phase separation. Recently, the demand for natural, sustainable, and healthy emulsifiers has also been growing. Thus, the preparation, characterization, and utilization of natural food-grade emulsifiers, such as polysaccharides, proteins, flavonoids, polyphenols, fat crystals, and their complexes, have aroused more and more interest, making them safer and more promising in various food fields. Notably, particle-stabilized emulsions, sometimes referred to as ‘Pickering emulsions’, are studied extensively due to their better stability and potential applications in fabricating ‘clean label’ products. The preparation methods of food emulsions mainly include ultrasound, high-pressure homogenization, high-speed homogenization, and microfluidizer, which are the generally used high-energy emulsification methods. The characterizations of emulsions contain stability, droplet size, interfacial film microstructure, rheological structure, and so on. The application of food emulsions currently plays an important role in the fields of 3D-printed food, fat substitutes, functional component carriers, food packaging, and food gels.

This special issue focuses on recent research and advances in food emulsions, including their preparation, characterization, and application. Additionally, we also welcome contributions regarding the preparation of food-grade emulsifiers from different raw materials.

Dr. Hongjie Dai
Guest Editor

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