A third ingredient, called a liaison or emulsifier, is added because the two ingredients will separate. The whisking disperses and suspends one liquid throughout the other. How to EmulsifyĮmulsifying is done by slowly adding one ingredient to another while whisking rapidly. This results in a baked cake that is grainy or flat in texture, dry and flavorless, look uneven and may even sink. If not stable, the batter will loose air cells. This is because the butter and liquids are in a stable emersion. A well emulsified cake batter, for example, should not be curdled or weeping liquid. To emulsify means to combine two liquids that normally do not combine easily, such as oil and vinegar. Many food products are emulsions. The most common natural example of an emulsifier is portrayed in milk, a complex mixture of fat suspended in an aqueous solution.įat and liquid by nature are unmixable, and the goal when mixing a recipe is to form a water-in-fat emulsion. Emulsify: What is Emulsification and How Does it Work?Ĭopyright © 2000 Sarah Phillips All rights reserved.
