Ultrasonic emulsification for food has many advantages and characteristics, as follows:
1. Efficient emulsification effect:
A. The high degree of droplet refinement: the high-frequency vibration and cavitation effect generated by ultrasonic waves can break the particles or droplets in the liquid into finer particles, so that the two or more kinds of insoluble liquids can be fully mixed to form a uniform and stable emulsion. For example, when making food such as salad dressing and mayonnaise, the oil phase and water phase can be evenly mixed, and the droplet size can reach the micron or even nanometer level, greatly improving the degree of emulsification and uniformity.
b. Rapid emulsification: Compared with the traditional emulsification method, ultrasonic emulsification can achieve good emulsification effect in a short time, significantly improve production efficiency, save production time and cost.
2. Improvement of food quality:
A. Maintain the nutritional content: The energy generated during the ultrasonic emulsification process mainly acts on liquid molecules, and does not produce a large amount of heat like some traditional heating emulsification methods, so as to minimize the destruction of heat-sensitive nutrients in food, such as vitamins, proteins, probiotics, etc., which helps to maintain the nutritional value of food.
b. Improve taste and flavor: The even distribution of small droplets can make the taste of food more delicate and smooth, and the flavor is more intense and uniform. For example, in beverage production, the use of ultrasonic emulsification can make the fruit, pulp and additives evenly dispersed to improve the taste of the drink1.
c. Improve product stability: After ultrasonic emulsion treatment, the interaction between droplets is enhanced, the stability of the emulsion is higher, and it is not easy to stratification, precipitation and other phenomena, thus extending the shelf life of food.
3. Easy and flexible operation:
a. Easy to control: by adjusting the ultrasonic power, frequency and action time and other parameters, you can accurately control the emulsification effect to meet the requirements of different food products for the degree of emulsification.
b. Simple equipment: Ultrasonic emulsification equipment is usually relatively simple in structure, easy to operate, easy to achieve automatic control, reducing the technical requirements and labor intensity of the operator.
4. Wide applicability: Ultrasonic emulsification technology is suitable for a variety of different types and properties of food raw materials, including high viscosity, low viscosity, volatile and other raw materials, can be applied to dairy products, beverages, grease products, sauces and condiments, baby food, chocolate and desserts and many other food fields.
5. Energy saving and environmental protection: the energy consumption in the ultrasonic emulsification process is relatively low, and there is no need to add additional chemical reagents or additives (in some cases can even reduce the use of emulsifiers), in line with the requirements of green production, reducing environmental pollution