Okuzeka
Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Ingredients, Stocks & Sauces

Emulsion

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

/ɪˈmʌlʃən/nounAdvanced term

In culinary arts & cooking, emulsion means: A smooth mixture of two liquids that do not normally mix, such as oil and water or vinegar, held together by whisking and often by egg yolk or mustard.

In Turkish: emülsiyon

How it is used

Mayonnaise, hollandaise and beurre blanc are emulsions; a vinaigrette is a temporary one. When an emulsion separates, chefs say it has split or broken. The verb is emulsify.

Example sentences

  1. Add the butter slowly or the emulsion will split.

  2. The mustard helps keep the dressing a stable emulsion.

Common collocations

  • stable emulsion
  • the emulsion splits
  • emulsify the sauce
  • break an emulsion
  • mother sauceOne of the five basic sauces of classic French cooking, as set out by Escoffier: béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise and tomato. Many other sauces are made from them.
  • whiskA tool made of loops of wire on a handle, used to beat air into eggs and cream or to mix sauces smoothly. As a verb, to whisk means to beat with this tool.
  • rouxA mixture of equal amounts of fat, usually butter, and flour cooked together and used to thicken sauces and soups.
  • seasonTo add salt, pepper or other flavourings to food to improve its taste. Well seasoned means the salt and flavour are at the right level.

More terms: Ingredients, Stocks & Sauces

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: