Effect of cooling rate on lipid crystallization in oil-in-water emulsions

The effect of cooling rate on the destabilization of oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions was studied as a function of oil content (20% and 40% o/w), homogenization conditions, and crystallization temperatures (10, 5, 0, −5 and −10 °C). The lipid phase was a mixture of anhydrous milk fat and soybean oil, and whey protein was used as the emulsifier. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to analyze the crystallization and melting behaviors; while a vertical scan macroscopic analyzer measured the physicochemical stability. Slow cooling rate increased the stability of emulsions with 20% oil. In addition, slow cooling promoted the onset of crystallization and delayed crystal growth. These effects were more significant in emulsions formulated with 20% oil and formulated under processing conditions that resulted in bigger droplet sizes (∼0.9 μm).