On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1190

after an emulsion has formed and developed some viscosity should the oil be added more rapidly The proportions of the two phases must be kept in balance For most emulsified sauces, the volume of the dispersed phase shouldn’t exceed three times the volume of the continuous phase If the droplets are crowded so closely together that they are in continuous contact, then they’re more likely to pool together When the consistency of an emulsion becomes stiff, this is a sign that the cook should add more of the continuous phase to give the droplets more room Starting Slowly There’s a simple reason for starting the emulsion slowly and carefully, with small amounts of the dispersed phase In the early mixing, when little or no oil has yet been emulsified, it’s easy for large droplets to avoid the churning action of the whisk and collect at the surface If a large volume of oil is added before the previous one has been fully emulsified, then the bowl may end up with more unemulsified oil than water The oil then becomes the continuous phase, the normally continuous water becomes dispersed in it, and the result is an inside-out emulsion, oily and runny By whisking in the first portion of oil in small doses, the cook makes sure to produce and maintain a growing population of small droplets Then when the rest of the oil is incorporated more rapidly into the already well-emulsified system, the existing droplets work as a kind of mill, automatically breaking down the incoming oil into particles of their own size In the last stages of sauce making the cook’s whisk need not break up the oil drops directly, but has the easier job of mixing the new oil with the sauce, distributing it evenly to all parts of the droplet “mill.” ...collect at the surface If a large volume of oil is added before the previous one has been fully emulsified, then the bowl may end up with more unemulsified oil than water The oil then becomes the continuous... continuous phase, the normally continuous water becomes dispersed in it, and the result is an inside-out emulsion, oily and runny By whisking in the first portion of oil in small doses, the cook makes... produce and maintain a growing population of small droplets Then when the rest of the oil is incorporated more rapidly into the already well-emulsified system, the existing droplets work as a kind of