A wide variety of food products, both natural and manufactured, exist either partly or
wholly as emulsions, or have been in an emulsified form sometime during their production.
Common examples of these food emulsions include milk, flavored milks, creams,
whipped cream, butter, yogurt, cheese, salad dressings, mayonnaise, dips, coffee whitener,
ice cream, desserts, soups, sauces, margarine, infant formula, and fruit beverages. Even
though these products differ widely in their appearances, textures, tastes, and shelf lives
they all consist (or once consisted) of small droplets of one liquid dispersed in another
liquid. Consequently, many of their physicochemical and sensory properties can be understood
by applying the fundamental principles, concepts, and techniques of a discipline
known as emulsion science. Knowledge of this discipline is also essential for the rational
development of ingredients capable of encapsulating, protecting, and delivering functional
food components, such as flavors, antioxidants, vitamins, antimicrobials, and bioactive
lipids. It is for these reasons that anybody working in the food industry with these types
of products should have at least an elementary understanding of emulsion science