5.1: Emulsions

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Page ID: 21847

William R. Thibodeaux & Randy Cheramie
Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University

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There is no doubt about it–emulsions are tricky. They are confusing to understand and they are confusing to make. Sometimes even the most seasoned chef can have trouble getting their sauces to emulsify! However, if you can start to get a feel for the science behind the scenes, you will feel more in control and confident next time you decide to whip up a hollandaise sauce for Sunday brunch.

At its most basic, an emulsion is a suspension two liquids within each other that would not naturally mix.

Think of a liquid–a cup of vinegar, for instance–as made up of millions of tiny droplets. If you pour oil into the vinegar, at first the oil will float on the top of the vinegar because it is less dense. However, if you whisk them together, the tiny droplets forming each liquid start to mix together and become suspended within each other. This is an emulsion. The mixing of two ‘unmixable’ liquids held in suspension.

However, this simple vinaigrette will eventually separate back into vinegar and oil because, at a chemical level, there is nothing holding the drops of each liquid together except for the temporary confusion of having been whisked together.

To get a stable, permanent emulsion, you need to use something to hold the drops of opposing liquid together and prevent them from separating. This “something” is called an emulsifying agent or emulsifier. Moreover, this agent is like a mutual friend who holds the oil-based liquid in one hand and the water-based liquid in the other. It creates a chemical bond with each liquid and becomes a bridge between them.

The most common emulsifying agent is an egg yolk, as in mayonnaise and hollandaise sauces. Two others are the casein found in butter and the fine particles of ground dry mustard. Thick liquids such as Dijon mustard and honey can also act as emulsifiers.

Whisking a vinaigrette, thecookful.com