Emulsions: When Oil and Water Do Mix

An emulsion is a temporarily stable mixture of immiscible fluids, such as oil and water, achieved by finely dividing one phase into very small droplets. Common emulsions can be oil suspended in water or aqueous phase (o/w) or water suspended in oil (w/o). There also can be more complex systems, such as oil in water in oil (o/w/o). Familiar foods illustrate examples: milk is an oil in water emulsion; margarine is a water in oil emulsion; and ice cream is an oil and air in water emulsion with soli…