Influence of morphology and polymorphic transformation of fat crystals on the freeze-thaw stability of mayonnaise-type oil-in-water emulsions

- Destabilization mechanisms of O/W emulsion by freeze-thawing were proposed.
- Partial coalescence was clearly observed in canola oil in water emulsion.
- Soybean oil in water emulsion was destabilized by polymorphic transformation of fat crystals.

This study examined the destabilization of an oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion by freeze-thawing with a focus on the influence of the morphology and polymorph of fat crystals. For a model of food emulsion, this study used a mayonnaise-type O/W emulsion containing 70 wt% canola oil (canola emulsion) or soybean oil (soybean emulsion) stored at − 15, − 20, and − 30 °C. The freeze-thaw stabilities of the emulsions were evaluated by measuring the upper oil layer after freeze-thawing. The soybean emulsion kept at − 20 °C had the highest stability; the other emulsions were destabilized during 6 h of storage. Crystallization in the emulsions was determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), time variation of temperature, X-ray diffraction measurement, and polarized light microscopy. DSC thermograms indicated that crystallization in emulsions occurred first in the high-melting fraction of oil, followed by water and, last, in the low-melting fraction of oil during cooling to − 40 °C. In the canola emulsion, the amount of fat crystals derived from the low-melting fraction of oil increased during storage at all temperatures, resulting in partial coalescence. The soybean emulsion was expected to be destabilized by polymorphic transformation (sub-α to β′ and β) of fat crystals derived from the high-melting fraction during storage at − 15 and − 20 °C. However, the soybean emulsion did not exhibit polymorphic transformation stored at − 30 °C, and the amount of fat crystals did not increase during freezing; thus, it was destabilized via a different mechanism.

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