Thickened emulsions and method for the preparation thereof

摘要

The present invention is in the field of oil-in-water emulsions, in particular thickened oil-in-water emulsions. Characteristically the thickening does not require a thickener in the water phase and also no crystallized fat, consequently partial coalescence of the oil droplets is not needed for the thickening process. Thus besides thickening by partial coalescence (by the presence of solid fat crystals) and/or the presence of thickeners, the present invention discloses an additional thickening effect in oil-in-water emulsions. This additional thickening effect is the result of the presence of specific emulsifiers and the application of a specific cooling treatment, and is related to an aggregation transition of the droplets that is reversible upon heating.