https://kvalifood.com/tags/emulsions/ Recent content in Emulsions on Kvalifood Hugo en-us Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://kvalifood.com/wiki/emulsions/ Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0100 https://kvalifood.com/wiki/emulsions/ <h1 id="emulsions">Emulsions</h1> <img src="https://kvalifood.com/wiki/emulsions/emulsions_hu_af334989b736ff94.webp" alt="" loading="lazy"> <p>An emulsion is a stable mixture of two liquids that normally refuse to combine — almost always oil and water. Emulsions are everywhere in cooking: milk, cream, <a href="https://kvalifood.com/wiki/butter/">butter</a>, mayonnaise, hollandaise, vinaigrettes, and most pan sauces.</p> <h2 id="how-emulsions-work">How emulsions work</h2> <p>Every emulsion has two phases:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Continuous phase</strong> — the liquid that forms the background. In cream and mayonnaise, this is water. In <a href="https://kvalifood.com/wiki/butter/">butter</a>, it&rsquo;s fat.</li> <li><strong>Dispersed phase</strong> — tiny droplets (0.1–10 micrometers) suspended within the continuous phase.</li> </ul> <p>Left alone, oil and water separate because oil droplets coalesce — they merge into larger and larger pools until the two liquids are fully separated. Emulsions prevent this through <strong>emulsifiers</strong>: molecules that are amphipathic (one end loves water, the other loves fat). They arrange themselves at the oil-water interface, coating each droplet in a protective shell that prevents coalescence.</p>