An Accelerated Method for Estimating the Dispersion Stability of Mayonnaise by Oil–Water Separation under Reduced Pressure.

A novel accelerated method to assess the dispersion instability of oil‐in‐water (O/W) emulsions with a high oil content such as mayonnaise and mayonnaise‐like semisolid dressing was developed. The method focuses on oil–water separation of the emulsions due to the increase in the ionic strength of the aqueous phase by evaporating the water under vacuum. The oil, separated from the emulsion, was absorbed with a filter paper. The oil penetration length increased in proportion to the square root of time after a certain time delay, while pure oil was absorbed with the filter paper with no delay. The time delay was defined as the destabilization time when the oil–water separation started to occur. A longer destabilization time represented higher dispersion stability. The destabilization time was longer for the mayonnaise‐like semisolid dressing containing a thickener, and was shorter for the mayonnaise stored for a longer duration. It is suggested that the effect of the composition of the aqueous phase on instability can be examined by the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]