EMULSIONNER

Se dit d’un mélange intime de beurre, d’huile avec le jaune d’oeuf, telle la mayonnaise ou d’un mélange de plusieurs matières grasses comme la margarine.

emulsion

[ih-MUHL-shuhn
]

A mixture of one liquid with another with which it cannot normally combine smoothly – oil and water being the classic example. Emulsifying is done by slowly (sometimes drop-by-drop) adding one ingredient to another while at the same time mixing rapidly. This disperses and suspends minute droplets of one liquid throughout the other. Emulsified mixtures are usually thick and satiny in texture. Mayonnaise (an uncooked combination of oil, egg yolks and vinegar or lemon juice) and HOLLANDAISE SAUCE (a cooked mixture of butter, egg yolks and vinegar or lemon juice) are two of the best-known emulsions.

© Copyright Barron’s Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER’S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.