{"id":20719,"date":"2023-01-08T19:32:36","date_gmt":"2023-01-08T11:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefooduntold.com\/?p=20719"},"modified":"2023-01-14T07:56:49","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T23:56:49","slug":"food-science-what-is-mayonnaise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefooduntold.com\/food-chemistry\/food-science-what-is-mayonnaise\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Science: What Is Mayonnaise?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Mayonnaise is a very popular condiment, and perhaps the most versatile that we can find in the kitchen. You can use it on popular food items such as burgers, salads, French fries, and sandwiches. Furthermore, its unique composition makes it an ideal base for a lot of dips and sauces. But what exactly is mayonnaise?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mayonnaise is a thick, creamy sauce made of emulsion of egg yolk, oil, and an acid, usually acetic acid or vinegar. In chemistry, an emulsion is a mixture of two liquids that are normally immiscible (like oil and water). But mayonnaise is a stable emulsion, hence does not separate under normal conditions. There are basically 2 types of emulsion: oil-in-water (O\/W) and water-in-oil (W\/O). Mayonnaise which typically contains 70% to 80% oil, is an example of the former. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)<\/a>, mayonnaise should contain not less than 65 % by weight of vegetable oil. Commercial mayonnaise may contain more additional ingredients such as a stabilizer and flavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reason why the components in mayonnaise do not separate, making it stable is because of the presence of egg yolk, an excellent emulsifier. Emulsifiers are ingredients or additives that hold several roles, and one of them is preventing immiscible liquids from separating. In the case of mayonnaise, the emulsifier is the egg yolk because its proteins are capable of protecting the oil droplets against coalescence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Generally, emulsifiers are effective because they contain both a hydrophobic (oil-loving) molecular end and a hydrophilic (water-loving) end, making them a bridge between two immiscible liquids, forming an emulsion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might also like: Emulsifiers In Food: What Are They?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mayonnaise is prepared by slowly pouring little amounts of oil at a time into the vinegar and egg yolk mixture and continuing to beat until the oil is broken up into droplets to form an emulsion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The more oil is added, the more droplets form, increasing the surface area substantially. The continuous phase (acid) extends out and forms a thin film around the oil droplets. Because the droplets are packed firmly together and separated only by a thin film of aqueous phase, the mayonnaise thickens and may even become stiff enough to cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fundamental idea behind cooking with an emulsion is to create small enough droplets or pieces of oil or water to be equally distributed throughout the mixture. Small droplets are made via sheering, a physical force that is most typically used with a food processor, blender, or a whisk. Fine-gauge strainers are used in industrial kitchens to force fluids to form an emulsion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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