Freeze-Thaw Stability of Food Emulsions

Abstract

Many types of foods are oil-in-water emulsions; for example, coconut milk, mayonnaise, cream, salad dressing, and sauce. These foods can be stored at freezing conditions to provide longer shelf life. During the crystallization of oil and water, partial coalescence or coalescence might occur, causing emulsions to lose its stability and separated into oil layers after thawing. A number of research had been investigating on the stability of emulsions prepared by different types of oils and various methods to improve emulsion stability had been found. These included using food emulsifiers that modified fat crystallization, using thick proteins or modified proteins or modified starch as emulsifiers, coating oil droplets with biopolymer membranes, coating oil droplets with solid particles, and the addition of some osmotic solutes or soluble biopolymer in the aqueous phase. This review article explained the emulsion destabilization mechanisms and introduced different food additives that can be applied to improve emulsion stability and increase the quality of frozen food products in the food industry.