Why does mayonnaise split/curdle??!


Question:

Why does mayonnaise split/curdle??

When making mayonnaise if you put the oil in too quick it splits and can't be returned by whizzing alone!! Why does it happen? they get along so well until bang they split! Bit of science please!


Answers:
Because Mayonnaise contains egg...I dunno...lol ^o*

because its egg base, heat and mayo = scrambled egg

Sometimes the emulsion will not work, when this happens we say the sauce has split or curdled, mayonnaise will curdle or split for a variety of reasons:
the oil is too warm or too cold
the oil was added to quickly
the whisking was insufficient
the yolks were stale

This can be corrected by one of two means:
a little boiling water is placed into a bowl and the curdled mayonnaise slowly whisked into it
a fresh egg yolk and a little vinegar or water is placed into a bowl and the curdled mayonnaise slowly whisked into it.

I'll try and find you a decent scientific reason asap.

Because there was too much surface to volume ratio during the emulsification process. The formation of the complex molecules that makes up the smooth consistency of mayonnaise has been unsuccessful and that is why the end-result is irreversible. Read more about it by clicking on the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/emulsificat...

Mayonnaise is what food scientists call a "water-in-oil" emulsion. It means that small tiny water droplets are dispersed in a matrix of oil, with egg being the emulsifying agent. Usually the oil content in mayonnaise is more than 60%. When this delicate oil-in-water emulsion is broken (i.e., by whipping it excessively), the water droplets will coalesce and the mayonaise will split.




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