Effect of processing on droplet cluster structure in emulsion gels

The fat droplet cluster structure in acidified and neutral emulsion gels is investigated after storage at fixed temperature or after temperature cycling. Amongst other techniques, the novel non-invasive Spin-echo Small-angle Neutron Scattering (SESANS) technique is applied to probe the structure of emulsion droplet aggregates up to a length scale of ∼10 μm. The SESANS data show that fat droplet clusters in non-cycled emulsions become smaller with increasing homogenisation pressure (next to the droplets themselves getting smaller as well), and that the emulsion gel becomes more homogeneous as a result. Upon temperature-cycling, it is found that the fat droplet clusters increase in size (next to the droplets themselves getting larger as well). The presence of these more lumpy aggregates is not the direct cause of the higher firmness of the emulsion gels, but the rearrangement process itself may promote the partial coalescence that causes an increase in firmness of these emulsion gels upon temperature-cycling.